3o 

Bulletin  No.  30,  New  Series. 


U.  S.  DEPARTMKXT   OF   AGR-feFjLl 


DIVISION  <>F  ENTOMO 


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BUKJQ 


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WORK  OF  THE  DIVISION  OF  ENTOMOLOGY. 


V. 


PREPARED  UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF 

L.     O".     HOWARD, 

>MO!  OGIOT. 


WASHINGTON; 


GOVERN  MKNT     PRINTING     OFFICE. 


n  1 


DIVISION  or  ENTOMOLOGY* 

Entomologist:  L.  <>.  Howard. 

First  Assistant  I'Jiitonioloyist:  C.  L.  Marlatt. 

Assistant  Entomologists:  Th.  Pergande,  P.  H.  Chittenden,  Nathan  Banks. 

Iin-tstit/'ttors:   E.  A.  Schuarz,  D.  \V.  Coquilletti 

A/>inrian:  Frank  Benton. 

Assistants.-  R.  S.  Clifton,  V.  C.  Pratt.  Aug.  Busck,  ott«>  Heidemann,  A.  X.  Caudell, 

.T.  Kotinsky. 
Artist;  Miss  L,  Sullivan. 


Bulletin   No.  30,   New  Series. 


U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE, 


KVISInX  OF   ENTOMOLOGY 


SOME 


Mls(  JELLANEOUS  RESULTS 


WORK  OF  THE  DIVISION  OF  ENTOMOLOGY. 


V. 


PREPARED    UNDER    THE    DIRECTION    <>F 
L.     O.     HOWARD, 

ENTOMOLOGIST. 


5P 


^^e 


f  ■ 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT     PRINTING     OFFICE. 

1  90  1  . 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 


r.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Division  of  Entomology. 
Washington,  D.  ('..  July  25.  1901. 
Sir:  T  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  the  manuscript  of  a 
bulletin  which  contains  matter  similar  to  that  published  in  Bulletins 
7,  10,  18,  and  '2'2  of  the  new  scries,  namely,  miscellaneous  articles  and 
notes  which  are  too  short  for  separate  publication,  but  which  are 
of  sufficient  importance  to  render  an  early  printing  desirable.  I 
recommend  the  publication  of  this  manuscript  as  Bulletin  No.  30,  new 
series,  of  this  Division. 

Respectfully.  L.  O.  Howard. 

Entomologist. 
Hon.  James  Wilson. 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 
The  Differential  Grasshopper  in    the  Mississippi  Delta — (  )ther  Common 

Spbcebs  I  illustrated  > If.  A.  Morgan . .  7 

Some  Insecticide  Experiment- C.  L.  MarlatL..  33 

The  Carriage  <  >f  Disease  by  Flies  i  illustrated  i ...L.  0.  Howard. .  39 

The  Green  Glover  Worm  i  illustrated  | F.  H.  Chittenden . .  45 

Report  Upon  an  Investigation  of  the  Codling  Moth  in  Idaho  in  1900. 

(  '.  B.  Simpson  .  .  51 

Insects  and  the  Weather  Dubing  the  Season  of  1900 F.  H.  Chittenden. .         63 

On  the  Habits  of  Entilia  sinuata  |  illustrated  i L.  0.  Howard. .         75 

Fumigation  with  Carbon  Bisulphide IT".  E.  Hinds. .         78 

General  Notes 82 

Iehneumonid  Parasites  of  the  Sugar-cane  Borers  in  the  Island  of  Reunion 
(p.  82);  Insects  from  British  Honduras  p.  82  :  Notes  from  the  Philip- 
pines (p.  83 ) ;  Miscellaneous  Notes  from  Kansas  |  p.  84  i ;  Unusual  Injury 
by  Cutting  Ants  in  Texas  (p.  85);  Injurious  Moths  Attracted  to  Lights 
in  Autumn  p.  85  | :  The  Auguniois  Grain  Moth  in  Pennsylvania  (p.  86); 
Use  of  Sulphur  as  a  Remedy  for  the  Indian-meal  Moth  (p.  SS):  Fuller's 
Rose  Beetle  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  (p.  88);  Singular  Instances  of 
Attack  on  Human  Beings  by  Insects  (p.  90);  Efficiency  of  the  Two- 
spotted  Ladybird  as  a  Plant-Louse  Destroyer  (p.  90);  The  Overflow 
Bug  Again  (p.  90);  A  Remedy  for  Flea-Beetles  in  California  Vineyards 
(p.  91);  Injury  to  Rustic  Cedar  Fences  and  Summerhouses  by  Borers 
(p.  91);  Ineffectiveness  of  Kerosene  Emulsion  Against  White  Grubs 
(p.  92  i:  A  New  Enemy  of  Figs  in  Mexico  (p.  93);  On  the  Food  Habits 
of  the  Papabotte  (p.  93);  On  the  Insectivorous  Habits  of  Squirrels 
(p.  94);  Insect  Injury  to  Binding  Twine  (p.  94);  To  Rid  Cats  of  Fleas 
(p.  94  c  A  New  Remedy  Against  Phylloxera  (p.  95);  A  Note  on  the 
Glassy- Winged  Sharpshooter  (p.  95);  On  the  Alleged  Immunity  of 
Redwood  to  Attack  by  Termites  i  p.  95);  The  Bran-Arsenic  Mash 
Against  Grasshoppers  in  Texas  (p.  96);  Termites  in  Mexico  (p.  96); 
An  Entomological  Service  in  Mexico  (p.  96). 

Notes  from  Correspondence 97 

Remedies  Against  Ants  (  p.  97) ;  A  Troublesome  Ant  (p.  97);  Migration  of 
the  Western  Willow  Flea-beetle  (p.  97) ;  The  Grapevine  Fidia  in  Illi- 
nois i  p.  ^7  :  Beetle>  Occurring  about  Smelting  Works  (p.  97);  A  Snout- 
Beetle  Injuring  Guava  in  Porto  Rico  (p.  97);  Reported  Injury  by  the 
Oil  Beetle,  Meloe  impressw  Kirby  (p.  98);  Injury  to  Apple  Leaves  by  the 
Caterpillar  of  Each  a  psenulata  Clem.  (p.  98);  Injury  by  Lygua  imritua 
Say  (p.  98);  The  BoN-Elder  Plant-Bug  [LeptooorU  trivittutus  Say)  in  Iowa 
(p.  98);  A  European  Plant-Louse  Introduced  in  Massachusetts  (p.  98). 

5 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PLATBB. 

Page. 
Pl.  I.  Trees  sprayed  with  crude  petroleum  and  trees  sprayed  with  lime,  sul- 
phur, and  salt  wash 34 

II.  Plum  tree  sprayed  with  heavy  lime  wash 38 

TEXT    FIGURES. 

Fig.  1 .  Meianoplw  differerdialis 11 

2.  Meianoplus  differentialis:  ootheca  or  egg  ease 12 

3.  Grasshopper  eggs  exposed  by  cultivation '. 15 

4.  Patterson  tarred  sheet 18 

5.  Hopperdozer 19 

6.  Trombidium  loeustarum:  female,  newly  hatched  larva,  egg,  eggshells..  22 

7.  Trombidium  loeustarum:  mature  larva,  pupa,  male  and  female  adult. . .  23 

8.  Mdcrobam  unwohr:  female,  male  antenna 23 

9.  Sarcophatfa  sarracenese:  larva,  puparium,  adult 24 

10.  Sarcophaga  assidua:  larva,  puparium,  adult 25 

11.  Euphororera  claripennis:  adult,  puparium 25 

12.  Lucilia  csesar 26 

13.  Schistocerca  americana:  adult 26 

14.  Sch istocerca  obscura:  adult 27 

15.  Schistocerca  obscura:  fifth  stage 27 

16.  Didyophorus  retlculatus:  adult 28 

1 7.  Dictyophorus  reticulatus:  egg  sac 29 

1 8.  Orchelimum  agile:  adult 30 

19.  Orchelimum  agile:  v«;g*  of,  in  cotton  stalk 30 

20.  Musoa  domestuxu  puparium,  adult,  larva 41 

21 .  Drosophila  ampelophila:  adult,  puparium,  larva 42 

22.  Homalomyia  brevis:  female,  male,  larva 43 

23.  Stomoxys  calcitrans:  adult,  larva,  puparium 43 

24.  Soatophaga  (areata:  male 44 

25.  Morellia  micans:  adult,  puparium 44 

26.  PkUhypena BCabrcu  moth,  wings  expanded  and  wings  folded,  larva, egg.  4(5 

27.  F.nt ilia  sinuata:  adult,  nymph 76 

28.  Enittia  sinuata:  developmental  stages 1  77 

29.  Ophion  antanbarus:  wings  of s- 

6 


SOME   MISCELLANEOUS    RESULTS    OF    THE 
WORK  OF  THE  DIVISION  OF  ENTOMOLOGY. 

v. 


THE  DIFFERENTIAL  GRASSHOPPER  IN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  DELTA- 
OTHER  COMMON  SPECIES. 

By  H.  A.  Morgan. 
INTRODUCTION. 

The  differential  grasshopper  has  been  known  to  occur  in  the  Upper 
Mississippi  Valley  for  many  years,  but  its  appearance  in  devastating 
numbers  as  far  south  as  the  State  of  Mississippi  is  of  recent  date.  In 
1890  and  1891  crevasses  occurred  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi 
River  between  Rolling  Fork  and  Coahoma.  Miss.  Plantations  in  this 
delta  region  around  Hampton  Station,  on  the  Riverside  Division  of  the 
Yazoo  and  Mississippi  Valley  Railroad,  were  inundated,  and  for  a  few 
years  following  grasshoppers  appeared  in  destructive  numbers:  "Lin- 
den.** "  Glen  Willow."  and  "  Richland"  plantations  suffering  the  most. 
Though  these  attacks  were  more  or  less  local  and  no  urgent  complaints 
were  heard,  the  outbreak  following  an  overflow  of  1S9T  was  attended 
by  more  serious  and  widespread  injury.  The  results  of  an  investiga- 
tion of  this  latter  outbreak,  made  during  1899  and  1900.  are  discussed 
in  this  article. 

In  Bolivar  County.  Miss.,  is  located  the  famous  Dahomy  property 
(19,000  acres),  which  is  perhaps  the  largest  cotton  plantation  in  the 
South.  Upon  this  property,  about  1  mile  east  of  the  Yazoo  and  Mis- 
sissippi Valley  Railroad,  a  basin  consisting  of  about  300  acres  exists. 
After  the  crevasse  water  of  1897  receded  this  basin  remained  flooded. 
The  crevasses  opening  as  late  as  the  28th  and  30th  of  March  and  the 
water  remaining  upon  the  property  for  at  least  six  weeks  so  delayed 
planting  that  no 'attempt  was  made  to  include  the  basin  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  1897.  It  became  a  forest  of  weeds  and  a  most  favorable  feed- 
ing and  breeding  ground  for  so  sturdy  and  prolific  a  species  of  grass- 
hopper as  the  differential.  The  spring  of  1898  was  favorable  for  early 
planting,  and  the  basin,  with  the  rest  of  the  property,  was  ploughed. 


put  iii  a  state  of  thorough  cultivation,  and  planted.     Early  in  June 

rows  of  cotton  adjacent  to  the  ditches  draining  this  basin  were  damaged 
by  grasshoppers,  but  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  particular  species, 
as  the  area  attacked  was  considered  insignificant.  Nothing  was  done 
to  suppress  this  miniature  outbreak  or  to  avoid  a  repetition  of  it  the 
following  year,  but  the  situation  was  no  more  threatening  than  that 
witnessed  on  neighboring  plantations  a  few  years  previous. 

The  vigor  of  the  attack  in  1899,  spreading  perhaps  from  different 
infesting  areas  for  hundreds  of  miles,  was  unexpected,  and  no  effort 
was  made  to  check  the  young  grasshoppers  at  the  time  when  remedial 
measures  are  more  or  less  effective.  So  little  attention  was  paid  to 
the  grasshopper  situation  that  the  early  molts  had  taken  place  and  the 
nymphs  had  reached  a  considerable  size  before  a  condition  almost  equal 
to  a  plague  was  realized. 

The  ravages  upon  Dahomy  began  in  and  around  the  basin  and  spread 
in  a  northwesterly  direction  until  more  than  5,000  acres  of  corn  and 
cotton  were  involved. 

Mr.  P.  M.  Harding,  representing  the  owners  of  Dahomy,  outlined 
in  the  following  letter  to  the  Hon.  James  Wilson.  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture, the  gravity  of  the  situation: 

Vicksbubg,  Miss.,  July  6,  1899. 

Dear  Sir:  I  sent  you  by  express  yesterday  from  Benoit,  Miss.,  some  specimens  of 
corn  and  cotton  stalks  and  other  vegetation,  together  with  a  box  of  grasshoppers,  for 
your  examination,  and  in  the  hope  that  you  may  render  us  some  immediate  assist- 
ance in  the  matter  of  destroying  the  grasshoppers  That  are  devouring  our  crops  of 
cotton,  corn,  oats,  millet,  and  pease. 

I  beg  to  explain  that  I  represent  the  Equitable  Company  of  New  York,  which  has 
recently  acquired  the  large  plantations  formerly  owned  by  the  late  Mr.  James  S. 
Richardson,  including  what  is  known  as  the  Dahomy  property  in  Bolivar  County, 
Miss.,  which  consists  of  about  19,000  acres  of  land,  with  between  9,000  and  10,000 
acres  in  cultivation,  and  which  is  the  largest  cotton  plantation  in  the  South.  It  is  on 
this  property  that  the  grasshoppers  are  doing  the  greatest  damage,  and  unless  their 
ravages  are  terminated  by  some  means  at  a  very  early  date  1  am  satisfied  they  will 
entirely  eat  up  the  crops. 

The  grasshoppers  made  their  appearance  on  Dahomy  early  in  the  spring,  feeding 
first  on  the  vegetation  along  the  sloughs,  the  edge  of  the  timber,  and  on  the  ditch 
banks.  I  was  on  this  property  about  three  weeks  ago,  and  found  that  while  they 
were  rapidly  increasing  in  numbers  they  had  done  but  little  damage  to  the  crops, 
eating  a  little  young  cotton  at  the  end  of  the  rows  along  the  ditch  banks,  and  here 
ami  there  we  saw  where  they  had  cut  some  of  the  stalks  of  corn  at  the  ends  of  the 
rows,  and  they  were  aboul  that  time  beginning  to  feed  on  the  oats.  My  managers 
have  been  reporting  from  time  to  time  of  their  increase,  but  not  until  ten  days  ago 
di.l  they  report  that  they  were  going  away  from  the  ditch  banks  and  completely 

Covering  the  fields. 

1  have  jusi  returned  from  this  property,  ami  beg  to  give  you  my  observations  con- 
cerning the  damage  done  to  the  various  crops,  as  follows: 

Cotton.  -They  have  totally  destroyed  300  acres.  What  I  mean  by  totally  destroy- 
ing this  acreage  is  that  they  have  eaten  all  of  the  foliage  off  of  the  stalks,  killing 
the  Btalk  completely,  ami  on  a  large  part  of  this  800  acres  there  is  not  a  vestige  of 
stalk  left,  the  ground  being  as  hare  as  when  it  was  first  broken  up  fm-  planting. 


There  are  2,000  acree  more  that  they  are  working  on  now  and  have  damaged  50 

••nt.  They  are  eating  the  leaves  and  the  forms  or  blooms,  as  well  as  the  tender 
bark  from  off  the  stalks  and  limbs,  causing  the  limits  and  stalks  to  shrivel  np  and 
die.  and  if  they  continue  their  work  ten  days  longer  they  will  have  completely 
destroyed  the  cotton  on  these  2,000  acn 

On  the  remaining  acreage  in  cotton,  there  being  a  total  of  something  over  5,000 
acres,  they  have  not  as  yet  done  any  great  damage,  but  it  all  lies  contiguous  and  there 
are  grasshoppers  on  every  acre  of  it.  though  not  in  sufficient  quantities  thus  far  to  do 
much  harm. 

Com  crop. — There  are  150  acres  totally  destroyed,  by  which  1  mean  to  say  that 
the  grasshoppers  have  eaten  the  tassel  and  the  silk  from  around  the  ear  completely, 
which  means  that  under  these  circumstances  the  corn  can  not  mature.  They  follow 
the  silk  down  into  the  ear  and  eat  out  the  tender  cob;  they  have  also  eaten  holes 
through  the  shucks,  and  clear  through  the  cars  of  corn,  and  in  addition  are  strip- 
ping the  corn  of  the  blade.  In  riding  through  a  patch  of  100  acres  I  found  the 
grasshoppers  on  the  staiks  all  the  way  from  the  ground  to  the  top.  as  well  as  on  the 
blades,  and  numbers  of  them  on  the  tassels.  I  counted  as  many  as  30  on  the  tassels 
and  15  on  some  of  the  blades,  averaging  probably  25  to  50  grass hoppers  to  each 
stalk. 

In  addition  to  the  corn  that  they  have  completely  destroyed  there  are  about  300 
acres  that  they  have  partially  destroyed,  and  there  are  some  grasshoppers  in  smaller 
quantities  in  all  of  the  balance,  which  balance  has  been  damaged  but  little  thus  far. 
though  if  they  continue  their  ravages  to  the  same  extent  that  they  have  been  work- 
ing for  the  past  two  weeks  they  will  ruin  it  all. 

Oais. — Our  oat  crops  before  we  cut  them  were  damaged  fully  50  per  cent.  The 
grasshoppers  ate  the  blade  and  then  cut  off  the  head,  leaving  the  ground  perfectly 
white  in  places. 

Millet. — The  millet  is  literally  alive  with  grasshoppers,  but  as  it  is  very  thick  the 
damage  does  not  seem  to  be  so  great,  though  if  they  continue  their  work  they  will 
doubtless  ruin  it. 

Sorghum. — While  the  sorghum  patches  are  rilled  with  grasshoppers  I  can  not  see 
that  they  have  done  any  great  amount  of  damage;  only  here  and  there  we  found 
where  the  blades  had  been  cut. 

In  the  foregoing  I  have  tried  to  give  you  a  thoroughly  correct  idea  from  my  own 
personal  observation  of  the  damage  done  on  this  property.  As  far  as  I  have  been 
able  to  ascertain  the  grasshoppers  have  not  done  much  damage  south  of  the  town 
of  Benoit,  which  is  in  Bolivar  County,  though  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county  I 
am  advised  that  they  have  eaten  up  whole  crops  as  they  are  now  doing  on  Dahomy. 
Mr.  Charles  Scott,  of  Rosedale.  informs  me  that  they  are  devouring  his  crops  as  well 
as  other  crops  in  his  neighborhood.  They  are  also  to  be  found  along  the  ditch  banks 
on  the  plantations  throughout  Washington  County,  though  they  have  thus  far  done 
but  little  injury  to  the  crops  there. 

I  have  written  to  the  agricultural  colleges  in  this  State  and  Louisiana  endeavoring 
to  get  them  to  send  some  one  to  look  over  the  situation  and  devise  some  means  for 
preventing  further  damage,  if  possible,  as  well  as  to  put  a  stop  to  their  ravages  in 
future,  but  unfortunately  the  entomologists  of  both  colleges  are  absent,  one  of  them 
being  in  San  Francisco  and  another  at  Cornell  University. 

I  now  write  to  ask  that  you  send  some  one  to  investigate  the  matter  with  a  view  of 
applying  a  remedy  immediately,  or  instructing  me  what  to  do  in  order  to  save  a  part 
of  our  crops  this  year. 

Both  colleges  have  sent  me  their  formula?  for  preparing  a  mixture  of  poison,  con- 
sisting of  paris  green  with  bran  and  molasses  or  sweetened  water,  and  distributing 
it  through  the  fields.     We  have  carried  out  the  directions  and  find  that  the  s 


in 

hoppers  eat  the  mixture  voraciously,  bul  ii  does  not  seem  to  kill  them.  We  find  a 
very  few  dead  grasshoppers,  but  practically  the  mixture  does  them  no  harm.  We 
bave  'lusted  the  grass  and  weeds  in  the  ditches  with  the  raw,  unmixed  paris  green, 
where  the  <_rrassh< tppers  were  in  great  numbers,  and  upon  examination  next  morning 
we  would  I'm. I  a  tew  dead  ones  at  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  but  just  as  many  living 
ones  feeding  on  the  grass  as  before  we  sprinkled  it  with  paris  green;  hence  it  seems 
that  this  poison  is  not  efficacious. 

I  feel  that  the  matter  is  one  of  greal  importance  t«>  the  cotton  planters  of  this 
section,  and  I  sincerely  trust  that  you  will  send  out  one  of  your  best  men  to  Vicks- 
burg  and  I  will  take  pleasure  in  going  with  him  to  this  property  and  taking  care  of 
him  while  there,  rendering  every  facility  for  destroying  the  pests. 

I  am  advised  that  in  1 S* * 7  the  tirst  was  seen  of  the  grasshoppers  in  this  locality  in 
any  quantities,  and  that  year  they  did  hut  little  damage,  eating  some  cotton  or  corn 
at  the  ends  of  the  rows  along  the  ditch  banks.  In  1898  they  did  more  damage  along 
the  ditch  hanks  on  this  particular  property,  injuring  probably  one  or  two  hundred 
acres  of  cotton.  However,  they  did  not  destroy  any  of  it  outright,  while  this  year 
they  literally  cover  the  larger  part  of  the  property,  and  in  the  foregoing  letter  I  have 
endeavored  to  give  a  correct  estimate  of  the  damage  done  to  date. 

It  is  not  the  same  species  that  we  have  had  with  us  all  along,  and  we  are  disposed 
to  fear  that  perhaps  the  grasshopper  of  the  West  or  some  other  similar  species  is  now 
visiting  us. 

Very  respectfully,  1*.  M.  Harding. 

Hon.  James  Wilson, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture,   Washington,  I>.  C. 

Mr.  Harding's  letter  was  referred  to  the  Division  of  Entomology, 

and  Dr.  L.  0.  Howard  made  the  following  reply: 

Ji-lv  11,  1899. 
Deak  Sir:  Your  letter  of  the  6th  instant,  addressed  to  the  honorable  Secretary  of 
Agriculture,  duly  received  and  referred  to  this  Division  for  attention.  I  wish  to 
acknowledge  also  the  receipt  of  two  large  packages,  one  of  corn  and  one  of  cotton, 
sent  from  Benoit,  Miss.  An  examination  shows  that  the  grasshopper  which  is  depre- 
dating SO  seriously  on  cotton,  corn,  etc..  in  Mississippi  proves  to  he  what  is  known  as 
the  differential  locust  (Melanoplus  diffierentialis  Thos.).  This  is  a  common  native 
species  <>f  grasshopper,  occurring  every  year  throughout  the  Mississippi  Valley.  It 
feeds  normally  on  grasses,  such  as  timothy,  alfalfa,  and  clover,  as  well  as  the  native 
grasses,  and  is  not  especially  an  enemy  of  cereal  crops  or  cotton.  In  Mississippi, 
however,  it  has  been  known  t<>  multiply  excessively  in  lowlands  and  waste  grass 
patches  along  ditches,  and  so  forth,  and  to  migrate  from  such  situations  into  cotton 
fields  and  neighboring  cornfields.  This  habit,  therefore,  is  unusual  and  peculiar, 
and  dependent  on  very  favorable  conditions,  which  have  led  to  the  unusual  multi- 
plication "f  the  grasshopper.  The  habits  of  this  species  have  been  detailed  in  three 
»>!  our  bulletins  relating  to  grasshoppers  or  locusts.  1  am  sending  you  a  copy  of 
each  of  the  three,  namely,  Nbs.  25,  27.  and  L'S,  old  series,  giving  habits  of  different 
Species  of  grasshoppers  and  the  means  of  control.  The  differential  locust  is  dis- 
cussed  in  Bulletin  No.  25  on  page  :'»<>.  in  Bulletin  No.  27  on  pages  62  and  63,  and  in 
Bulletin  No.  28  on  pages  L5  to  17.  I  refer  you  particularly  to  the  advice  as  to  reme- 
dies mentioned  under  this  specie-  in  Bulletin  X<>.  '_'7.  After  the  locusts  have  become 
winged,  a-  many  of  them  are  at  present,  it  is  impracticable  to  attempt  any  of  the 
ordinary  means  of  control,  such  as  collecting  with  hopperdo/.ers  or  driving  them 
into  ditches,  and  so  forth,  and  the  only  remedy  is  in  the  use  of  poisons.  I  do  not 
believe  the  bran-arsenic  mash  to  he  practicable  over  the  large  areas  infested,  in  view 
of  the  scattered  condition  of  the  locust.      It  will  doubtless  be  of  more  or  less  avail. 


11 

but  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  very  heavy  poisoning  of  all  ^rrass  along  the  ditches 
and  elsewhere  frequented  in  numbers  by  the  grasshoppers,  if  accompanied  with  a 
dusting  of  the  cotton  plants  by  the  poison,  as  practiced  for  the  cotton-leaf  worm, 
will  be  the  more  profitable  and  feasible  course.  It  is  difficult  to  advise  in  the 
absence  of  direct  knowledge  of  conditions,  and  I  am,  therefore,  in  response  to  your 
request,  which  has  been  seconded  by  the  Hon.  T.  C.  Catchings,  M.  C,  of  Vicks- 
burg,  Miss. ,  and  the  requests  of  several  other  correspondents,  about  to  send  one  of 
my  assistants,  Mr.  James  8.  Hine,  to  make  a  personal  investigation  of  the  case  and 
give  such  directions  in  regard  to  remedial  work  as,  in  his  judgment,  will  be  deemed 
most  worth  while  after  a  personal  investigation.  Mr.  Hine  will  proceed  to  Vicks- 
burg  and  call  on  you  there. 

Yours,  truly.  L.   ().  Howard. 

Mr.  P.  M.  Hakding, 

President  Delta  Trust  mirf  Banking  Company,  Vicksburg,  Miss. 

As  the  differential  locust  matures  as  early  as  June  '2d  in  the  latitude 
of  the  section  infested,  nearly  all  of  the  grasshoppers  had  reached  the 
adult  condition  by  the  time  Mr.  Hine  arrived  at  Dahomy.  and  little  if 
anything  could  be  accomplished,  save  to  carefully  investigate  the  con- 
ditions likely  to  precipitate  such  an  outbreak,  and  to  recommend 
measures  looking  to  the  suppression  of  a  similar  or  even  more  exten- 
sive occurrence  of  these  locusts  the  following  year. 

In  the  fall  of  1899,  the  writer,  fearing  the  spread  of  this  destructive 


Fig.  1. — Melnnoplus  difft  rentialis — natural  size  fatter  Riley  . 

locust  into  the  Mississippi  Valley  of  Louisiana,  began,  through  the 
assistance  of  Mr,  Harding,  an  investigation  of  the  Mississippi  situa- 
tion. Specimens  of  eggs  sent  from  Dahomy  were  placed  in  breeding 
cages  and  in  the  spring  of  1900  some  of  the  habits  and  the  life  history 
of  the  differential  and  other  species  were  observed.  During  the  win- 
ter, as  the  managers  of  Dahomy  were  following  out  the  instructions 
given  by  Dr.  Howard  and  Mr.  Hine.  to  have  the  infested  fields 
plowed  and  thoroughly  cultivated,  additional  eggs  were  secured  in 
sections  of  soil,  thus  augmenting  our  breeding-cage  operations  and 
making  it  possible  to  anticipate  by  cage  data  the  development  and 
habits  of  the  grasshoppers  in  the  field. 

LIFE    HISTORY    AND    HABITS    OF    MELANOPLUS    DIFFERENTIALS. 

The  following  observations  were  made  in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1899 
and  during  1900  in  breeding  cages  of  the  laboratory  of  the  Louisiana 
State  University,  and  in  the  fields  upon  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Dahomy 
plantation,  Bolivar  County «  Miss. 


12 

Eggs.  Eggs  are  deposited  in  masses  (oothecae),  see  fig.  2,  just  below 
the  surface  of  the  ground.  They  arc  arranged  irregularly  in  the  egg 
sac, are  small,  light  colored,  and  contrast  strongly  with  the  large,  eon- 
spicuously  ivd  Qgga  of  Schistocerca  obscura,  so  often  found  associated 
with  those  of  the  differential.  The  period  of  egg-Jaying  depends 
upon  the  time  the  females  reach  maturity:  even  those  hatching  at  the 
same  time  may  vary  in  maturing  as  much  as  twelve  days  or  two  weeks. 
It  was  found  that  eggs  may  be  deposited  from  , July  20  to  October  1, 
and  by  stragglers  even  later.  The  bulk  of  oviposition,  however,  takes 
place  between  August  LOand  September  L5.  Single  females  separated 
to  determine  the  number  of  egg-pods  deposited  indicate  in  most  cases 
that  but  a  single  batch  of  egg^  is  laid.  The  number  of  eggs  in  each  sac 
ranged  from  1<»:5  to  L32.  Mating  was  observed  to  generally  take  place 
twice  at  an  interval  of  from  ten  to  twelve  days;  the  female  oviposit- 
ing from  three  to  live  days  after  the  second  copulation. 

Egg-laying  areas.  -Places  selected  for  depositing  eggs  are  more  or 
less  local,  and  a  knowledge  of  them  is  interesting  and  important,  as  they 
offer  most  excellent  means  of  effecting  remedies. 
The  account,  given  above,   of  the  basin  of 
800  acres  which  had  become  hard  after  flood- 
ing, and  the  spread  of  the  grasshoppers  from 
this  region  into  cultivated  fields  suggests  that 
any  such  territory  is  perhaps  the  most  favor- 
able egg-laying  area;  other  places  were  found 
equally  attractive  during  1899.    Ditch  and  bay- 
ou banks,  plantation  roads,  the  railroad  right 
of  way,  upon  levees,  Indian  mounds  (common 
fig.  2.-ootheca  or  egg  case  of   in  the  delta),  around  stumps  and  logs,  and  even 
Mdanoplus differentiate (origi-    jn  rj1(1  i0ffS    :lt  the  end  of  corn  and  cotton  rows 

nal  i.  . 

(the  turn  rows),  in  lanes,  and  Bermuda  pastures 
were  all  found  plugged  with  egg-pods.  Just  at  the  edges  of  sloughs 
and  on  the  turn  rows  are  thought  by  the  managers  to  be  the  most 
common  egg-laying  places,  but  the  opportunity  for  witnessing  the 
females  ovipositing  eggs  in  these  regions  is  much  better  than  in  the 
less-frequented  waste  and  sodded  areas,  and  thus  we  may  account  for 
the  prevalence  of  this  belief.  Some  females  were  seen  depositing  eggs 
far  out  in  cultivated  fields,  but  such  cases  were  not  common,  and  even 
then  the  harder  spots  near  the  basis  of  a  cotton  plant  were  selected.  It 
was  not  unusual  to  find  the  ego-pods  of  three  or  even  four  species  of 
grasshoppers  side  by  side.  In  fact,  it  was  due  to  the  conspicuous  col- 
onizing of  the  eggs  of  Schistocerca  obscura  that  many  of  the  egg-laying 
areas  of  differentialis  were  discovered. 

Young  and  adults.  Eggs  remaining  in  tin1  soil  over  winter  begin 
hatching  a-  early  a-  April  L5,  but  the  majority  of  young  emerge 
between  May  I  and  May  20.     Eggs  exposed  upon  the  surface  of  the 


13 

ground  hatch  during  warm  spells  of  early  spring,  but  those  normally 
placed  seldom  hatch  until  continuous  warm  weather  prevails.  Those 
in  the  upper  portion  of  the  pods  or  egg  sacs  hatch  first,  sometimes 

many  days  in  advance  of  those  in  the  lower  part:  the  species  is  thus 
protected  from  complete  annihilation  should  an  unexpected  severe 
cold  spell  intervene  between  the  first  and  second  hatching. 

The  average  life  cycle  of  the  differential  locust  as  determined  in  the 
breeding  cages  is  as  follow-: 

Grasshoppers  emerging  from  eggs  on  April  20,  1900,  molted  tive 
times  before  reaching  the  full-grown  or  adult  condition.  The  first 
molt  took  place  May  7.  the  second  May  22,  the  third  June  2.  the 
fourth  June  13,  and  the  last  June  '21.  The  first  mating  was  observed 
July  19,  the  second  July  28;  the  females  deposited  eggs  August  3, 
and  were  dead  by  August  17.  The  entire  period,  minus  the  time 
required  for  incubation,  was  one  hundred  and  nineteen  days.  The 
young  on  first  emerging  from  the  egg-  are  sordid  white  and  after  an 
airing  of  an  hour  or  two  are  darker,  assuming  a  color  not  unlike  the  dark 
gray  alluvial  soil  over  which  they  feed.  There  are  changes  of  color 
as  the  earlier  transformation-  (stages)  arc  assumed,  but  until  the  close 
of  the  third  stage  these  changes  are  not  readily  perceptible  in  the  held 
to  the  naked  eye.  At  the  close  of  stage  four  the  greenish-yellow  color 
becomes  prominent  on  many  forms,  and  in  stage  live  the  greenish- 
yellow  and  yellow  ground  colors  predominate.  The  vigorous  feeding 
and  rapid  growth  of  the  young  in  stages  four  and  tive.  and  the  promi- 
nence of  the  wing  pads  in  stage  tive.  cause  the  grasshoppers  in  these 
conditions  to  appear  almost  as  conspicuous  as  adult-. 

The  habits  of  the  young  are  interesting,  and  a  knowledge  of  some 
of  them  may  be  helpful  in  developing  remedies.  After  hatching  they 
remain  for  several  hours  in  close  proximity  to  the  egg-pod  from 
which  they  emerged.  With  this  period  of  faint-heartedness  over 
they  may  venture  out  for  a  few  yards  each  day  into  the  grass,  weeds. 
or  crop  neighboring  the  egg  area.  Upon  being  disturbed  they  inva- 
riably make  the  effort  to  hop  in  the  direction  of  their  so-called  nest. 
Nymphs  emerging  from  egg<  upon  a  ditch  bank,  if  forced  into  the 
water  will  seldom  make  the  effort  to  reach  the  other  side  but  will 
turn  in  the  water  and  swim  back  to  the  bank  from  which  they  were 
driven.  A-  development  takes  place  the  extent  of  their  peregrina- 
tions into  the  crop  is  easily  traced  by  the  shot-hole  appearance  of 
the  leaves  upon  which  they  feed.  The  tender  leaves  of  cockle- 
bur  are  alway>  preferred  by  the  grasshoppers  in  the  early  stages. 
Young  Bermuda  grass  i-  also  a  favorite  food,  and  succulent  grasses 
of  all  kinds  are  freely  eaten.  In  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  -tag*-. 
as  grass,  weeds,  and  even  young  shrubs  disappear  along  the  ditch 
bank-  and  bayou-,  the  crop-  of  corn  and  cotton   adjacent  begin  to 


14 

show  signs  of  vigorous  attack,  and  the  march  of  destruction  com- 
mences. The  rather  rare  occurrence  of  more  grasshoppers,  even  in 
the  adult  condition,  upon  and  near  the  ditch  banks  seems  to  be 
explained  in  the  commingled  instinct  of  the  young  to  hunt  the  retire- 
ment and  seclusion  of  the  nesting  or  egg-laying  areas,  and  of  the  adult 
to  seek,  and  survey  beforehand,  suitable  places  for  oviposition.  A 
few  hours  before  molting  the  grasshoppers  tend  to  congregate  and 
become  sluggish.  Ecdysis  (molting)  varies  as  to  time,  and  slightly 
as  to  manner,  with  different  stages.  In  the  early  stadia  less  time  is 
required,  and  the  operation  takes  place  upon  the  ground  or  upon  low 
bunches  of  grass  and  weeds.  Every  effort  of  the  grasshoppers  at  this 
time  seems  to  be  to  avoid  conspicuity,  and  in  doing  so  spare  them- 
selves, in  a  manner,  enmity  of  parasites.  After  molting  of  the  first, 
second,  and  third  stages  it  is  not  long  before  the  young  grasshoppers 
are  sufficiently  hardened  to  again  begin  feeding,  but  often  the  molt  of 
the  fourth  and  fifth  stages,  particularly  the  last  molt,  some  time  is 
required  to  extend  the  wings  and  dry  and  harden  the  body  before 
feeding  is  resumed.  The  last  molt  usually  occurs  upon  the  upper  and 
well-exposed  leaves  of  corn  and  other  plants  upon  which  they  may  be 
feeding,  though  it  is  not  uncommon  for  the  grasshoppers  to  drop  to 
the  ground  during  the  maneuvers  of  the  process.  The  reason  for  the 
selection  of  the  more  exposed  places  for  tin1  last  molt  is  obvious.  The 
bodies  are  large,  and  rapid  drying  protects  them  from  fungous  diseases 
which  lurk  in  the  more  shaded  and  moist  sections  during  the  months 
of  June  and  July. 

The  last  prominent  habit  to  which  we  call  attention  is  that  of  the 
fully  grown  grasshoppers  to  seek  the  shade  offered  by  the  growing 
plants  <luring  the  hottest  part  of  the  day.  Upon  Dahomy  plantation 
they  appeared  in  such  numbers  a  little  before  sunset  as  to  change  the 
entire  coloring  of  the  fields.  Instead  of  the  rich  green,  a  dishearten- 
ing glistening  bronze  prevailed. 

MEANS    USED   TO    DESTROY    THE    BROOD   OF    1900. 

The  serious  loss  of  1899,  and  the  alarming  increase  in  the  number  of 
grasshoppers  over  1898,  together  with  the  startling  number  of  eg^  in 
widely  distributed  v^^;  areas,  caused  no  little  uneasiness  as  to  the  out- 
look for  L900.  Preventives  and  remedial  operations  were  begun  early 
in  the  winter  and  were  actively  continued  until  it  seemed  that  all  dan- 
ger of  serious  loss  was  past.  These  operations  consisted  in  fall  and 
winter  cultivation,  spraying  the  ego-  beds  and  young  grasshoppers  with 
coal  oil  and  coal-oil  emulsions,  covering  the  ditch  water  with  oil  emul- 
sions and  driving  the  young  into  the  trap  thus  prepared,  of  using 
improvised  tarred  sheets,  and  of  different  kinds  of  hopperdozers,  and 
finally  t<>  disseminate  among  the  developing  grasshoppers  a  disease 
COtnmonh   known  as  "the  South  African  fungus," 


15 

OuUivatian. — Three  methods  were  used  to  determine  the  efficacy  of 
the  method  of  destroying  eggs.  Conditions  were  produced  in  breed- 
ing cages  as  nearly  as  possible  like  those  existing  m  the  fields.  Eggs 
were  collected  in  the  fields  a  few  weeks  after  cultivation  had  occurred, 
and  lastly  careful  observations  were  made  in  fields  cultivated  before 
planting  and  those  that  were  not.  While  none  of  these  methods,  taken 
separately,  would  give  exact  experimental  proof,  yet  when  the  results 
of  all  three  are  considered,  the  estimate  may  be  regarded  as 
approximate. 

Breeding  cages  showed  that  after  egg  areas  had  been  broken,  as 
represented  in  fig.  3,  and  the  eggs  exposed  to  rain,  frost,  and  sunshine 
for  two  months,  that  over  80  per  cent  failed  to  hatch.  We  failed  to 
determine  the  influence  of  frost  alone  upon  exposed  eggs,  but  young 


Fig.  3. — Grasshopper  eggs  exposed  by  cultivation  (drawings  from  a  photograph). 

grasshoppers  which  had  been  hatched  artificallv.  when  subjected, 
March  15.  1900,  to  a  temperature  of  3'2    F.,  all  died. 

Of  several  hundred  eggs  collected  on  February  15  from  fields  which 
had  been  plowed  in  December.  1899,  and  the  eggs  kept  from  further 
exposure,  only  30  per  cent  hatched  and  most  of  these  came  from  egg 
pods  which  happened  not  to  be  thoroughly  broken. 

From  field  observations  where  favorable  contrast  could  be  made  in 
egg  areas  cultivated  and  those  left  undisturbed  the  evidence  in  favor 
of  cultivating  is.  to  say  the  least,  very  conclusive.  Mr.  G.  G.  James, 
of  Mound  Landing.  Miss.,  states,  in  a  letter  dated  March  14.  1900: 
"While  dragging  a  plow  along  a  wagon  road  on  March  12,  the  point 
dug  up  a  few  clusters  of  grasshopper  eggs,  and  after  finding  these  I 
had  the  entire  road  plowed  up,  and  to  my  astonishment  I  found  quan- 
tities of  eggs  its  entire  length.      In  a  certain  part,  a  space  of  about  20 


L6 

feet  long  and  6  feet  wide,  there  was  almost  a  solid  mat  of  nests."  We 
were  informed  by  Mr.  .lames  early  in  May  that  upon  this  roadbed, 
which  had  been  thoroughly  cultivated  even  as  late  as  March  12,  few 
of  the  eggs  hatched,  and  this  single  experience  convinced  him  of  the 
value  of  winter  cultivation.  In  the  Delta,  as  far  south  as  the  State 
of  Mississippi,  warm,  summer-like  spells  of  weather  often  occur  in 
winter,  and  fertile  e<j"e;s  exposed  to  such  conditions  invariably  hatch, 
with  the  result  that  the  young  perish  during  subsequent  winter 
weather,  while  eggs  in  pods  just  below  the  surface  of  the  ground  do 
not  hatch  until  the  latter  part  of  April  or  early  in  May.  It  is  there- 
fore evident  that  the  practice  of  fall,  and  even  spring,  cultivation  is 
one  of  the  most  available  means  of  destroying  grasshopper  eggs. 

In  fortunately,  upon  plantations  of  many  thousand  acres,  and  espe- 
cially upon  those  where  a  number  of  waste  tracts  occur,  it  is  impossible 
to  find  all  of  the  egg  areas  and  to  effect  the  remed}r  of  winter  cultiva- 
tion. 

TJu  use  of  kerosene  uj><>n  e$g-beds  at  the  time  of  hatching. — One  or 
two  seasons'  experience  with  grasshoppers  greatly  quickens  the  pow- 
ers of  observation,  and- egg-beds  not  discovered  in  the  fall  and  winter 
may  be  detected  the  first  week  in  May  by  the  presence  of  the  young 
grasshoppers.  Upon  Dahomy  spray  pumps  were  kept  actively  at  work 
upon  egg  areas,  spraying  each  with  12  per  cent  coal-oil  emulsion  at 
least  once  a  day.  It  of  ten  happened  that  as  many  young  grasshoppers 
were  in  evidence  the  day  following  each  application,  but  careful  obser- 
vation soon  revealed  the  fact  that  only  those  hatching  after  the  emul- 
sion had  been  applied  survived,  and  those  were  killed  by  the  next 
spraying.  While  the  emulsion  spray  was  found  expensive  when  com- 
pared with  that  of  cultivation,  yet  in  the  face  of  such  conditions  as 
prevailed  in  the  Mississippi  Delta  its  effectiveness  many  times  out- 
weighed the  expense.  Applications  of  coal  tar  were  not  made  to  the 
ego-beds,  but  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  this  substance  would 
also  have  proven  useful.  The  use  of  coal  tar  in  the  hopperdozer  and 
upon  the1  drag  sheets  certainly  warrant  a  trial  of  it  upon  egg  areas. 

Spraying  ditches.  The  experience  in  spraying  ditch  banks  soon 
developed  the  cheaper  and  perhaps  more  effective  method  of  destroy- 
ing young  grasshoppers,  that  of  damming  water  in  the  ditches  and 
covering  the  surface  with  coal  oil  or  coal-oil  emulsion.  Before  and 
after  rains  the  ditches  were  dammed  and  the  water  covered  with  a  L2 
percent  coal-oil  emulsion.  The  young  grasshoppers  were  then  driven 
into  the  ditches,  with  the  result  that  very  few.  if  any.  escaped.  In 
this  way  a  single  application  of  oil  would  last  several  days,  as  many 
million-  may  easily  float  upon  the  water  of  a  ditch  not  more  than  '2 
fret  wide.  Unless  the  grasshoppers  are  scattered  too  far  from  the 
ditch  banks  no  difficulty  is  experienced  in  getting  them  to  move  in  'he 


17 

direction  of  the  oiled  water  or.  account  of  the  "homing"  instinct 
above  mentioned.  Young  grasshoppers  will  not  drive  more  than  from 
1(>  to  2i)  feet  before  taking  what  is  commonly  termed  by  the  plantation 
managers  "the  sulks/'  when  they  cease  hopping  and  show  an  aggra- 
vating indifference  to  the  brush  of  the  switches  used  in  driving  them. 
The  necessity  of  early  learning  the  location  of  the  egg-beds  and  the 
time  of  hatching  is  obvious  if  the  ditch  method  be  practiced. 

Tpon  river  plantations  many  open  ditches  are  indispensable,  and 
when  rains  are  sufficient  to  keep  them  tilled  or  partly  tilled  with  water 
they  serve  a  most  excellent  purpose  in  the  destruction  of  young  grass- 
hoppers. During  the  grasshopper  campaign  of  1900  over  225  barrels 
of  coal  oil  were  used  upon  Dahomv  and  not  a  little  of  this  quantity 
was  placed  upon  the  water  of  the  ditches  of  the  plantation  in  the  form 
of  emulsions.  At  the  height  of  the  season  as  .many  as  50  miles  of 
ditches  were  oiled,  and  the  number  of  young  grasshoppers  killed  may 
be  roughly  estimated  when  we  state  that  the  surface  of  the  waiter  for 
this  distance  was  completely  covered.  After  the  water  evaporated 
the  stench  from  decaying  grasshoppers  was  very  perceptible,  and  had 
it  not  been  for  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  millions  had  been  slain 
the  stench,  no  doubt,  would  have  been  objectionable. 

Mr.  Robert  Glenk,  a  member  of  the  experiment  station  staff  of 
Louisiana,  spent  two  weeks  in  the  tield  in  charge  of  the  grasshopper 
work,  and  in  his  report  to  Mr.  Harding,  dated  Ma}T  31,  1900,  says: 

Sunday  afternoon  brought  up  a  heavy  rain  and  filled  many  of  the  ditches  with 
standing  water.  We  had  oiled  the  surface  of  the  water  and  made  a  combined  attack 
upon  the  insects,  which  has  resulted  in  their  wholesale  destruction.  We  are  using 
gangs  of  men  and  are  making  a  systematic  drive  to  the  ditches. 

One  hitch  occurred  in  the  use  of  the  emulsion.  In  driving  the  tank 
wagon  over  rough  ground  the  emulsion  became  so  thoroughly  churned 
that  the  oil  separated  and  floated  to  the  top.  This  condition,  however, 
was  soon  revealed  by  the  effectiveness  of  the  spray.  The  use  of  the 
pump,  which  mechanically  mixes  the  oil  and  water,  should  obviate  this 
difficulty. 

Ta/rred  sheets  and  Jvopperdozers. — The  operation  of  the  ordinaiy 
hopperdozer  may  be  considered  an  easy  matter  in  meadows,  pastures, 
and  over  crops  planted  upon  the  level,  but  one  has  to  experience 
once  the  trouble  of  working  a  hopperdozer  in  alluvial  sections  where 
the  high  ridging  of  the  land  prevails  to  realize  that  the  ordinary  use 
of  the  hopperdozer  is  impracticable.  To  construct  one  of  these  imple- 
ments suitable  to  alluvial  conditions  will  require  further  experience 
and  trial.  During  the  efforts  with  the  hopperdozer  Mr.  C.  D.  Patter- 
son, general  manager  of  Dahomv,  improvised  a  tarred  sheet  similar  to 

.      4<>70— No.  30— 01 2 


18 


that  illustrated  in  fig.  4.  It  consists  of  six  attached  strips  of  osnaburg 
«;  feet  long,  with  light  polos  attached  to  the  ends.  The  sheet  was  kept 
moist  with  coal  tar  and  was  dragged  by  a  mule  along  all  the  ditch 
hanks  and  even  down  in  the  ditches  where  this  was  possible.  Several 
of  these  sheets  were  made  and  kept  actively  at  work  while  the  grass- 
hoppers were  young,  and  great  numbers  of  the  insects  were  thus 
collected.  While  these  sheets  possess  the  merit  of  not  breaking  the 
young  corn  and  cotton  and  of  catching  myriads  of  the  grasshoppers, 
it  is  to  he  regretted  that  they  soon  wore  out  when  dragged  over  culti- 
tivated  areas. 

The  hopperdozer,  which  was  finally  constructed  and  which  possessed 


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Fig. 4.— Patterson  tarred  sheet.:  a,  strip  of  wood  supporting  sheet;  b,  strip  of  osnaburg;  c,  guide  rope; 

(1,  hitch  rope  (original). 

much  merit  when  run  diagonal^  over  the  rows  of  cotton  and  corn, 
consisted  of  three  runners  3  inches  high  and  2  feet  long,  a  pan  of  cor- 
rugated or  sheet  iron,  and  a  back  of  osnaburg.     (See  fig.  5.) 

Two  more  contrivances  for  catching  young  grasshoppers  are  to  be 
recommended.  These  are  of  value  during  dry  weather  when  it  is 
impossible  to  hold  the  rain  water  in  the  ditches,  or  to  till  them  from 
the  river  or  neighboring  bayous  by  irrigating  pumps.  One  is  a  hop- 
perdozer sufficiently  narrow  to  run  in  plantation  ditches  and  light 
enough  to  be  handled  by  a  man  upon  the  sloping  ditch  banks.  They 
will  prove  serviceable,  too.  upon  limited  egg  areas  when  the  young 
are  emerging.     The  other  is  a  tarred  strip  of  osnaburg  just  as  long  as 


19 

can  be  conveniently  handled  in  the  bottoms  of  dry  ditches.  A  strip 
30  or  40  feet  long-  will  suffice.  After  this  is  stretched  in  the  bottom 
of  the  ditch  the  grasshoppers  are  driven  from  the  sheet  just  as  they 
are  driven  into  oiled  ditches,  and  as  soon  as  the  distance  of  the  length 
of  the  strip  is  cleared  the  canvas  is  hauled  forward  and  the  drive  again 
made.  This  continued,  the  ditch  banks  may  be  as  effectively  cleaned 
in  dry  weather  as  when  the  ditches  are  tilled  with  water. 

The  bran-arsenic  mash. — The  experience  of  Mr.  Harding  in  1899 
(see  his  letter  July.  1899)  rather  discouraged  an  extended  effort  with 


Fig. 


-Hopperdozer 


A,  osnaburg  hack;  B,  pan;  C,  wooden  ends  of  pan;  D,  runners:  E.  F.  G, 
supports  (original). 


this  bait.     Mr.  Glenk,  however,  ventured  a  number  of  trials  with  the 
mash  and  writes  of  it  as  follows: 

I  placed  the  arsenic  mash  in  many  plares  with  moderate  success.  Found  a  few 
dead  grasshoppers  on  the  leaves  and  around  the  mash.  The  rain,  however,  inter- 
rupted my  experiments. 

The  mash  can  not  be  relied  upon  in  severe  outbreaks,  such  as  occurred 
in  the  delta,  but  may  be  used  in  limited  attacks  where  the  area  affected 
would  not  warrant  the  more  aggressive  methods. 

The  South  African  fungus. — On  May  21  the  following  letter  was 
received  from  Dr.  L.  O.  Howard,  inclosing  Mr.  Edingtoms  directions 
for  the  culture  and  spread  of  the  fungus,  which  are  also  herein  given: 

May  22,  1900. 
Dear  Professor  Morgan:  In  response  to  your  letter  I  am  sending  you  six  of  the 
tubes  of  the  South  African  locust  fungus,  together  with  a  duplicate  of  a  letter  which  I 
have  just  sent  to  Mr.  Harding,  at  Benoit.  I  think  it  will  be  advisable  for  you  to 
grow  the  fungus  in  the  laboratory.  Mr.  Edington,  director  of  the  Bacteriological 
Institute,  writes  me  that  it  is  best  grown  on  saccharinated  agar-agar,  which  is  very 
faintly  acid  in  reaction.  I  hope  you  will  report  results.  The  South  African  circular 
of  instructions  is  inclosed. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

L.  O.  Howard. 
Prof.  H.  A.  Morgan,  Baton  Rouge,  La. 


20 

|  Enclosure.] 

L'KTST    DISEASE    I'CM.rs. 

Small  tubes  containing  this  fungus  arc  prepared  at  this  institute  and  supplied  to 
all  applicants,  who  may  also  obtain  them  by  application  through  the  civil  commis- 
sioner of  their  division. 

The  methods  mentioned  below  should  be  followed,  and  the  result  carefully  watched 
and  reported  to  me. 

Highly  satisfactory  results  have  hitherto  been  obtained,  and  it  is  particularly 
requested  that  all  persons  using  the  fungus  will  report  the  result  of  their  experi- 
ments to  this  institute. 

During  dry  weather  it  is  difficult  to  gel  the  disease  to  spread,  and  hence  it  is  advis- 
able to  use  it    in  moist  or  wet  weather,  and  to  make  the  infection  of  the  swarms  just 

before  sunset. 

DIRECTIONS   FOR   PREPARING   THE   FUNGUS   PREVIOU8  TO   1SK. 

<  )pen  a  tube  and  take  out  the  contents  entire;  add  to  it  two  teaspoonfuls  of  sugar, 
and  rub  the  whole  together  with  a  spoon  or  flat  knife,  so  as  to  break  up  the  material 
and  mix  it  thoroughly.  Then  dissolve  this  in  three-fourths  of  a  tumblerful  of  water, 
which  has  previously  been  boiled  and  allowed  to  cool.  Float  in  this  a  few  pieces  of 
cork,  which  have  been  previously  steeped  in  boiling  water  and  cooled. 

Now  cover  the  tumbler  with  a  piece  of  paper,  and  let  it  stand  during  the  day  in  a 
warm  corner  of  the  house  or  until  the  fungus  is  seen  to  be  growing  around  the  pieces 
of  cork. 

METHOD  OF    DISTRIBUTION. 

(1)  Catch  some  locusts,  and,  after  dipping  them  into  the  fungus,  let  them  go  into 
the  swarm  again. 

(2)  Smear  patches  of  damp  ground,  where  the  locusts  alight  to  feed,  with  the 
fungus. 

(3)  Confine  some  locusts  in  a  box  which  contains  some  favorite  food  moistened 
with  the  fungus,  and,  after  the  food  has  been  eaten,  return  the  locusts  to  the  swarm. 

(4)  Collect  a  large  number  of  locusts  which  have  died  from  the  fungus.  Dig  a 
hole  in  the  ground  about  IS  inches  deep  and  1  foot  wide. 

Strew  some  locusts  over  the  bottom,  then  sprinkle  some  water  over  them.  Repeat 
with  locusts  and  again  sprinkle  until  the  hole  is  full.  Do  not  press  the  locusts  into 
the  hole,  but  leave  them  lightly  packed.  Then  cover  over  with  a  piece  of  tin  or 
board  and  keep  the  hole  thus  carefully  covered  for  four  or  five  days.  If  very  warm 
weather,  four  days  will  be  sufficient,  but  if  colder  a  longer  time  will  be  required. 

At  the  end  of  this  time  remove1  the  locusts  and  spread  them  out  in  the  sun  for  an 
hour  or  two,  or  until  thoroughly  dry.     Now  grind  them  into  a  meal. 

Of  this  meal,  which  may  be  kept  dry  for  a  long  time  until  wanted,  take  two  table- 
spoonfuls  and  add  it  to  a  large  tumblerful  of  water,  into  which  some  sugar  has  been 
placed.  Leave  this  in  a  warm  place  for  twelve  to  forty-eight  hours,  and  then  treat 
live  locusts  by  dipping,  etc.,  just  as  one  does  in  using  the  fungus  when  supplied  in 
tubes. 

METHOD  OF   APPLICATION    FOB    VOETGANGERS. 

Take  about  1  pound  of  white  bread;  dry  it,  and  then  grate  it  down  into  coarse 
powder.  Put  a  cupful  into  a  bowl  and  add  enough  water  to  make  a  watery  paste. 
Add  to  this  the  contents  of  one  tube  of  fungus,  and  keep  it  in  a  warm  place  until  the 
fungus  is  seen  to  be  growing  over  it.  Now  place  small  portions  where  the  voetgang- 
ers  are  appearing,  and  take  care  to  see  that  where  not  eaten  up  the  small  portions 
are  kept  moist  from  day  to  day  until  they  have  been  eaten. 

ALEXANDER    EDINGTON,   M.    B., 

I>ir<  <■/<>/■  Bacteriological  Institute,  Grahamstowu, 
February   19,  L899. 

These  tubes,  too-other  with  six  more  sent  directly  to  Mr.  Harding  at 
Benoit,  Miss.,  were  with  instructions  turned  over  to  Mr.  Glenk,  and 
on  May  31,  L900,  Mr.  Glenk  made  the  following  report  to  Mr.  Harding: 

The  South  African  fungus  came  duly  to  hand.  I  immediately  began  its  propaga- 
tion in  the  manner  directed,  and   steeped   the  grasshoppers  and   their   favorite  food 


21 

(cocklebur)  in  the  liquid  and  tV<l  a  large  aumber  of  hoppers  with  it.     Two  infection 
-  were  started,  with  dampened  soil  covering  the  floor  and  cheese  cloth  the  tops, 

and  the  insects  were  placed  in  contact  with  the  spores  of  the  fungus.  The  infected 
grasshoppers  were  liberated  in  various  badly  infested  spots,  and  the  results  which 
should  i>e  noticed  in  a  few  weeks  are  looked  forward  to  with  much  interest. 

In  a  letter  to  the  writer  dated  June  5,  1900,  Mr.  (ilenk  states: 

I  have  had  hetter  success  with  the  fungus  than  when  you  were  here.  I  made  an 
incubator  out  of  some  boxes  and  used  my  lamp  for  keeping  an  even  temperature. 
The  fungus  grows  well  in  a  warm,  moist  atmosphere.  I  dissolved  the  nutrient  agar- 
agar  in  two  of  the  tubes,  in  hot  water,  mixed  with  it  the  sugar  solution,  added  the 
fungus  film,  stirred  well  to  distribute  the  spores,  and  poured  the  solution  upon  the 
lea\  >j>  and  moist  earth.  Dead  grasshoppers  were  found  in  both  of  my  infection  boxes 
in  a  few  days.  I  used  up  all  the  tubes  received  from  Dr.  Howard  and  made  up 
enough  liquid  for  all  the  managers.  We  put  out  a  dilute  solution  of  the  fungus  over 
several  badly  infested  areas  and  spread  it  upon  the  grasshoppers,  and  the  leaves  of 
corn  and  cotton  in  many  parts  of  Dahomy. 

The  month  of  June  was  very  propitious  for  the  spread  of  disease 
among  grasshoppers.  Rains  began  the  latter  part  of  May.  and  during 
June  9.29  inches  fell  at  Greenville.  Miss..  4<>  miles  south  of  Dahomy. 
the  nearest  point  where  meteorological  records  are  kept. 

On  July  18,  L900,  the  writer  received  the  following  from  Mr.  C  D. 
Patterson,  general  manager  of  Dahomy: 

By  request  of  Mr.  P.  M.  Harding  1  am  sending  you  by  mail  to-day  .some  dead 
grasshopper-,  which  we  rind  attached  to  weeds  on  ditches  and  bayou  banks.  We 
also  find  a  few  on  cotton.  Mr.  Ike  Edwards  (manager  of  Matthews  place  i  tells  me 
that  he  has  found  as  many  as  six  dead  grasshoppers  upon  one  stalk  of  cotton.  The 
dead  grasshoppers  I  am  sending  you  were  gotten  on  Glass  place. 

Early  in  August  a  visit  was  made  to  Dahomy.  with  a  view  of  making 
some  observations  upon  the  spread  of  this  fungus,  and  it  was  found 
that  over  the  areas  where  the  liquid  infection  was  spread  by  Mr.  Glenk 
diseased  hoppers  were  abundant.  As  many  as  a  dozen  dead  grasshop- 
pers could  be  found  upon  a  single  plant,  and  some  upon  nearly  every 
weed  on  ditch  banks  where  grasshoppers  were  numerous.  From  the 
centers  of  infection  great  areas  had  become  inoculated,  spreading  even 
beyond  the  plantations  first  infected.  While  a  local  fungus  {Empusa 
grylli)  was  in  evidence  throughout  the  delta,  the  general  spread  of  the 
imported  fungus  upon  Dahomy  indicates  a  thorough  infection  of  this 
property  with  the  South  African  fungus.  The  spread  of  the  disease 
i-  similar  to  that  reported  from  Colorado,  where.  Dr.  Howard  informs 
me.  the  disease  has  also  done  effective  work. 

Associated  with  the  differential  locust  in  the  same  tracts  of  land 
were  numbers  of  a  much  larger  locust,  the  Schistocerca  obscura,  as  well 
as  many  of  the  local  species  of  grasshoppers  found  throughout  the 
delta  any  season.  Of  all  the  specimens  sent  to  the  laboratory  and  of 
all  those  observed  in  the  fields  none  were  found  to  succumb  to  the 
fungus  but  the  differential. 


22 

M 'is,-,  11  a ,,, mts  experiments.  The  habit  of  the  differential  to  remain 
along  sloughs,  ditch  hanks,  etc.,  suggested  the  scattering  of  lime, 
acid  phosphate,  kainit.  and  other  substances  to  check  the  inarch  of 
the  grasshoppers  out  into  the  crops;  but,  as  none  of  these  materials 
proved  of  any  value,  a  continuation  of  this  line  of  work  was  early 
abandoned. 

We  found  it  advisable  not  to  destroy  cocklehurs  growing  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  egg  areas,  as  this  plant  is  the  favorite  food  of  young 
grasshoppers  and  serves  to  congregate  them,  which  not  only  renders 
more  available  effective  remedies,  but  also  preserves  the  stand  of  corn 
and  cotton  in  these  localities.  Where  it  is  possible,  we  also  recom- 
mend delaying  the  cutting  out  of  the  crops  to  a  stand  until  the  young 
hoppers  have  been  destroyed  by  some  or  all  of  the  remedies  stated 
above. 

NATURAL    ENEMIES. 

Aside  from  the  very  timely  rainfall  during  the  latter  part  of  May 
and  in  June,  there  were  many  predatory  and  parasitic  enemies  found 
common  to  the  differential  locust  in  the  Mississippi  Delta. 


Pig.  S.—Trombidium  locuatarum  :  <i.  female  with  her  batch  of  eggs  (from  Emerton);  b,  newly  hutched 
larva— natural  size  indicated  by  the  dot  within  the  circle;  c,  egg;  (/,  e,  vacated  eggshells  (from 
Riley). 

Upon  the  eggs.  -Three  predatory  and  two  parasitic  forms  were 
found  feeding  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  upon  the  eoys. 

The  locust  mite.  Trombidium  looustarum  (see  figs.  *>  and  7),  which 
occurs  throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada  was  in  evidence  in 
the  Mississippi  Delta.  The  full-grown  mites,  as  well  as  bunches  of 
the  small  red-colored  eggs,  were  commonly  seen  during  the  cultivation 
of  the  land  in  April  and  May.  While  most  abundant  in  tin1  vicinity 
of  the  egg- beds,  it  was  not  uncommon  to  find  them  anywhere  over  the 
entire  plantation.  Many  were  placed  in  breeding  cages  where  quan- 
tities of  eggs  of  ditj',  r,  nl 'ml is  and  of  other  species  were  kept,  but 
we  were  disappointed  somewhat  in  not  finding  them  more  ravenous 
feeders  upon  grasshopper  eggs.     From  the  statements  of  other  observ- 


23 


ers  of  their  beneficial  attack  upon  eggs  it  may  be  that  our  cage  con- 
ditions were  not  suitable  for  aggressive  work  of  this  mite.  The 
numbers  to  be  found  were  very  assuring  and  this  mite  must  be  recog- 
nized as  an  important  enemy  to  grasshoppers. 

The  larva*  of  a  species  of  Carabid  beetle,  which  we  were  unable  to 


<x'  6  U        c        U  d 

Fig.  1.—  Ti0mbidium  locustarum  :  a,  mature  larva  when  about  to  leave  the  wing  of  a  locust;  b,  pupa: 
c,  male  adult  when  just  from  the  pupa;  d,  female — the  natural  size  indicated  to  the  right;  e,  palpal 
claw  and  thumb;  /,  pedal  claws;  g,  one  of  the  barbed  hairs;  h,  the  striations  on  the  larval  skin 
(from  Riley  i. 

rear  to  the  adult  condition,  were  also  found  to  be  an  energetic  feeder 
upon  eggs.  With  their  large  mandibles  they  were  observed  breaking 
the  egg  sacs  and  devouring  the  contents. 

During  April,  May.  and  June  the  ash  and  black  colored  blister 
beetle  (Macrdbasis  unicclor)  (see  tig.  8)  showed  by  its  numbers  and  the 
manner  of  the  attack  of  the  young  to  be  an 
important  enemy  of  grasshopper  eggs.  In 
sweeping  they  were  a  common  capture,  and 
in  following  the  plows  and  cultivators  the 
pseudo  pupa?  (coarctate)  were  seen  in  great 
numbers.  The  young  of  the  first  and  second 
stages  were  also  found  among  the  egg-pods. 

Of  the  true  parasitic  forms  two  species 
were  bred,  Scelio  hyalinipennis  Ashm.  and 
Sceli<>  cedipodce  Ashm.  While  the  former 
species  appeared  earlier  than  the  latter,  both 
continued  to  emerge  as  adults  irregularly 
from  May  1  until  the  latter  part  of  June. 
They  were  found  to  come  in  the  majority 
of  cases  from  the  eggs  of  the  lower  end  of 
the  pod,  and  in  a  few  instances  this  was  found  the  case  even  where 
grasshoppers  were  coming  from  the  upper  ends.  As  a  rule  not  all  of 
the  eggs  of  the  pods  are  parasitized,  and  the  inference  is  that  the  habit 
of  the  parasites  to  attack  the  deeper  placed  eggs  is  to  so  retard  the 
development  of  the  offspring  as  to  guarantee  food  for  the  broods  that 


Fig.  8. — llacvobasis  unicolor:  Fe- 
male beetle  at  right,  twice  nat- 
ural size;  male  antenna  at  left, 
greatly  enlarged  (from  Chitten- 
den). 


24 


follow.  A.8  the  eggs  of  the  differential  are  not  deposited  before 
August  L5,  the  appearance  of  the  parasites  long  after  the  young 
grasshoppers  emerge  suggests  that,  were  they  to  appear  earlier,  the 
species  would  perish  for  lack  of  food.  Those  reaching  the  adult  as 
early  as  June  find  food  In  the  eggs  of  species  of  grasshoppers  which 
deposit  their  eggs  in  the  spring  as  Sch/i&tocerca  americana,  or  in  those 
of  double  brooded  species,  as  Chortophaga  viridifasciata. 

Parasites  of  nymphs  and  adults.-  -As  the  fight  against  the  grasshop- 
pers progressed  it  was  thought  of  interest  to  determine,  as  far  as 
possible,  all  of  the  natural  agencies  at  work,  that  with  a  fuller  knowl- 
edge of  these  we  might  better  know  how  to  direct  the  expensive  and 
time-consuming  artificial  measures,  or  knowing  more  accurately 
nature's  rigid  methods  of  establishing  equilibration  among  the  beings 


Fk;.  V.—Sarcophaga  sarracenise:  Larva  at  right;  adult  in  center;  pupariumat  left— enlarged  (from 

Howard  |. 

in  her  charge  we  might  assist  and  encourage  her  with  less  expense 
and  more  profit  than  carry  out  our  own. 

From  time  to  time  hundreds  of  grasshoppers  were  collected  and  con- 
tined  to  cages  where  each  day  quantities  of  fresh  food  were  given  them. 
As  the  later  stages  of  the  grasshoppers  were  reached  maggots  were 
noticed  emerging  from  the  conjunctiva1  (sutures)  of  the  abdomino-tho- 
rax  and  head.  None,  however,  appeared  until  after  the  specimens  had 
died,  either  from  the  conditions  of  confinement  or  from  the  attack  of 
the  parasites.  As  the  collections  were  made1  after  the  "South  African 
fungus"  had  been  spread,  many  of  the  specimens  were  attacked  by 
the  parasitic  flies  and  the  fungus  as  well.  Just  to  what  extent  the 
attack  of  the  fungus  encouraged  the  attack  of  the  flies  we  were  unable 
to  determine. 


25 


Of  the  parasites  bred  most  of  them  are  peculiarly  orthopterous  ene- 
mies belonging  to  the  genus  Sarcpphaga.  Of  the  flies  reared  there 
were  six  Sarcophagids,  two  Taehinids.  and  one  Muscid.  The  identifica- 
tions were  made  by  Mr.  Coquillett  and  are  as  follows:  Sarcophaga  %ar- 
raceneoB  Riley  (fig.  9),  S.  assidtta  Walker  (fig.  1<>).  S.  sp.  near  mcerta 


Fig.  10.— Sarcophaga  aeaidua:  Puparium  at  left;  adult  in  middle,  with  enlarged  antenna:  larva  with 
enlarged -parts  at  right— enlarged  i  from  Howard  j. 

Walker.  S.  sp.  near  eimbicis  Towns..  S.  TiwnXeri  Hough.  ETdicobia 
hdids  Towns.,  Euphorocera  darvpennis  Macq.  (tig.  11).  Acem.yia  den- 
tata  Coq..  Lucilia  ccB»ar  Linn.  (fig.  12). 

Of  the  above  species  Hdicobia  hdids  Towns,  was  the  commonest  fly 
bred.  By  isolating  specimens  of  the  differential  locust,  in  order  to 
derive  information  relative 
to  its  life  history,  a  part  of 
the  life  history  of  Hdico- 
h'm  hdids  was  incidentally 
reached.  May  26.  1900.  a 
specimen  of  grasshopper  of 
the  third  stage  was  placed  in 
cage.  The  last  three  molts 
were  successfully  accom- 
plished and  a  few  days  after 
this  female — for  the  speci- 
men proved  to  be  a  fe- 
male— had  reached  maturity 
a  male  was  given  her.  Mat- 
ing took  place  twice  and  a 
single  pod  of  132  eggs  was 
deposited.  August  16, 1'.*'  K), 
the  female  died  and  was  placed  in  a  separate  tube  cage  for  further 
examination.  During  the  period  between  August  28  and  September 
1  six  maggots  of  Hdicobia  Jul  ids  emerged  from  the  body  of  this  grass- 
hopper. Within  forty-eight  hours  all  had  entered  the  puparia.  and 
on  September  17  the  last  of  the  flies  appeared.      From   the  above 


Fig.  11. — Eupkoraeero  cuiriptuitm:  Adult  with  enlarged 
antenna  and  with  empty  puparium  at  right — enlarged 
(irom  Howard). 


26 


observation   it  is  evident  that   the  eggs  (or  maggots)  of  the  parasite 

were  placed  upon  the  host  (this  grasshopper)  previous  to  the  third 
molt,  and  that  the  larval  lit\>  of  the  parasite  is  {it  least  as  long  as  from 
May  26  to  August  28,  or  a  period  of  ninety-five  days.  It  is  astonish- 
ing that  all  of  the  natural  functions  of  grasshoppers  went  on  during 
this  remarkable  period  of  parasitic  attack. 

. I ii-i    t<>   what    extent    the    parasitic    flics    lessened   the   number  of 

grasshoppers  it  is  difficult  to  say 
owing  to  the  prevalence  of  fungous 
diseases.  Numbers  of  dying  speci- 
mens were  examined,  and  the  vis- 
cera of  those  specimens  infested  with 
the  fungus  was  much  more  disinte- 
grated than  those  attacked  by  mag- 
gots, yet.  as  many  of  the  grasshop- 
pers were  common  hosts  of  disease 
and  maggots,  it  was  impossible  to  ar- 
rive at  any  very  definite  conclusion. 
Little  information  could  be  gotten 
from  examination  of  the  dead  grass- 
hoppers in  the  field  as  numerous  ants 
soon  deprived  the  hoppers  of  viscera  or  parts  of  viscera  left  by  the 
maggots. ' 

From  the  puparia  of  Hdicdbia  hdids  two  secondary  parasites  were 
reared.  One  of  these.  Aphcsrreta  pall f>ipes  Say.  was  bred  August  3, 
the  other.  Perilamjyw  cyanem  Brulle*. 

The  young  of  the  locust  mite  was  found  to  do  effective  work  as 
parasites  upon  the  wing  pads  and  wings  of  grasshoppers.     Upon  the 


Fiu.  Vl.—  Lncilhi  cassar— enlarged  (from 
Howard  . 


!•!<..  l&.—ijctustocerca  americana;  Adult  (from  Boward). 

majority  of  those  collected  in  the  fifth  and  last  stages  young  mites 
\\  ere  common  guests. 

Blackbirds  and  turkeys  were  observed  to  feed  upon  grasshoppers 
in  all  stages,  and  upon  some  plantations  turkeys  were  purchased  and 
Liberated  in  infested  fields.  The  exact  information  is  not  at  hand  as 
to  the  real  merit  of  turkeys,  but  a  common  belief  prevails  that  they 
may  be  made  to  serve  a  very  practical  purpose  in  grasshopper  out 
breaks. 


OTHEK    GRA88HOPPEB8    MORE    <>K    LE8S    INJURIOUS    IN    DELTA. 

These  belong  to  the  families  Acrididse  and  Locustitfse.     Schistoceroa 
americana  and   Schistocerca  obscura  were   the  most  common   of    the 

former  family. 

Schistocerca  americana  or  bird  grasshopper  (see  fig.  13). 

This  species   is  single   brooded,  deposits  eggs   in   the  spring,  and 

hibernates  in  the  adult  condition.     Specimen-  collected  early  in  May 
-ited  eggs  May  15.     In  the  held  the  egg-laying  place-  are  usually 


Fk..  14.—  The  full-grown  - 


WHMfU 


•ri^rinal 


Bermuda-covered  spots  and  waste  area-.  Eggs  hatch  about  .Tune  15, 
and  the  young  molt  six  times  (June  23,  .Tune  29,  July  5,  July  11,  July 
20,  and  August  5)  before  reaching-  the  adult  condition.  In  the  delta 
the  grasshopper  attracts  considerable  attention  owing  to  its  size  and 
bird-like  appearance  when  in  flight,  yet  it  has  never  appeared  in  threat- 
ening number-.  Mr.  C.  D.  Patterson,  commenting  upon  the  habits  of 
this  species,  stated  that  during  the  clearing  up  of  the  waste  lands  in 
winter,  as  the  Hies  ascended  the  tall  tree.-,  these  large  grasshoppers 
would  fly  out  from  the  upper 
limbs  in  great  numbers.  Just 
how  they  found  shelter  among 
the  higher  branches  of  tn 
unknown.  We  found  it  diffi- 
cult   t<>   carry   the  bird  grass- 

i  *.i_  i_    Ai.  •        Fig.  15.— The  fifths!  risinal). 

hopper  through  the  winter  in 

captivity,  and  only  succeeded  in  keeping  specimens  alive  until  Febru- 
ary '1.  In  the  rield<.  however,  a  few  specimen-  have  been  collected 
from  January  until  the  last  of  May.  No  parasites  were  bred  from 
those  captured  and  no  special  remedial  efforts  were  directed  against 
this  species.  The  egg  area-  were  found,  however,  and  cultivation  and 
the  use  of  coal  oil  will  no  doubt  prove  effective. 

s        -  i  obscura. — (See  figs.  14  and  15. )     This  specie-  in  size  and 

shape  is  not  unlike  the  bird  grasshopper.  Attention  was  first  called 
to  it  in  the  egg  condition.  The  large  brick-red  colored  egg^  are  t«» 
be  found   associated  with  those   of  Mdarwplus,  differentialis.     A  few 


28 

egg  sacs  were  isolated  and  during  the  latter  part  of  May  the  young 
grasshoppers  made  their  appearance.  In  the  first  and  second  stages 
they  are  pea  gree*n,  but  in  the  third  stage  changes  in  the  ground  color 
occur.  Some  remain  green,  while  equally  as  many  become  brown. 
The  bod\  and  appendicular  markings  of  the  two  color  varieties  remain 
the  same.  This  locust  hibernates  in  the  egg  condition,  though  the 
eggs  are  deposited  miieli  later  than  are  those  of  differ entialis.  Adults 
placed  in  the  breeding  cages  on  October  15  deposited  eggs  November  2. 
Five  molts  occur  before  maturity  is  reached.  Young  emerging  from 
the  eggs  on  May  28,  L900,  molted  June  LO,  dune  L9,  June  29,  July  8, 
and  July  28.  Adults  in  confinement  are  shy  and  soon  die  in  captivity. 
In  destructiveness  to  crops  of  the  Mississippi  Delta  this  species  stands 
next  to  differentialis.  It  readily  attracts  attention  by  its  size,  color, 
and  vigorous  flight.  Notwithstanding  its  prevalence,  not  a  single 
specimen  was  found  attacked  by  parasitic  flies  or  by  the  South  African 
fungus.  Scelio  hyalinipennis  Ashm.  was  bred  from  the  eggs,  as  was 
Scdio  oedipoda  Ashm. 


Fig.  L6. — The  large  blaek  grasshopper  Dictyophorus  reticulatus  (original  . 

The  ego-  beds  of  tliis  species  being  similar  in  position  to  those  of 
the  Melanophis  differentialis  the  remedial  measures  recommended  for 
differentialis  will  prove  effectual  for  this. 

Dictyophorus  reticulatus. — (See  tig.  L6.)  This  large  black  species 
is  a  short-winged  form,  is  only  locally  distributed  and  may  occur  only 
in  spots,  even  upon  a  small  plantation.  It  is  a  voracious  feeder,  pre- 
ferring the  coarser  grasses  and  sedges  of  swam])  areas.  Its  wander- 
ing into  cultivated  crops  is  only  occasional,  and  hence  this  locust  does 
not  att  pact  much  attention. 

The  eggs  are  deposited  in  sodded  areas  all  during  the  month  of 
August  (see  tig.  of  egg  pod;  tig.  IT). 

Kn  September  1"»  females  are  rare,  not  more  than  10  per  cent  of 
hundreds  collected  at  this  t  ime  were  females.  This  is  just  the  oppo- 
site of  the  observations  upon  differentialis.  Males  usually  die  a  few 
days  in  advance  of  females.  Eggs  of  Dictyophorus  hatch  as  early 
as  April  20.      A.s  is   usual  with   most  Aeridids  five  molts  occur   in   the 


99 


process  of  development,  the  last  one  occurring  from  June  25  to  July  1. 
The  mating  season  begins  in  from  fifteen  to  twenty  days  after  maturity. 
and  in  as  many  more  the  oviposition  season  begins. 

From  the  local  distribution  of  this  locust,  as  well  as  its  large  size, 
conspicuous  coloring,  and  lubberly  movements,  no  trouble  is  experi- 
enced in  destroying  it.  The  bran  arsenic  mash  had  been  used  upon 
this  locust  with  good  effect.  Locating  the  eggs  and  exposing  them  by 
winter  tillage  is  the  most  practical  remedy.  In  very  local  outbreaks 
the  net  has  been  used  to  collect  both  nymphs  and  adults.  A  species 
of  Sarcophagida?  has  been  found  a  common  parasite  of  this  grasshopper. 

Dissostdra  Carolina. — The  Carolina  locust  eggs  resemble  very  much 
in  size  and  form  those  of  the  Schistocerca  obsoura  after  the  coloring 
from  the  latter  has  been  removed  by  alcohol.  .(This  coloring  of  the 
eggs  of  obscura  resembles  in  its  reactions  the  color  extract  from  the 
petals  of  red  roses.)  The  eggs  are  laid  in  the  same  areas  as  differ- 
entialis  and  obscura.  The  preferred  food  of  the  young  we  were  unable 
to  determine,  and  hence  were  unsuccessful  in  the  effort 
to  determine  the  life  history  of  this  locust.  Grasshop- 
pers of  all  species  are  difficult  to  rear  in  cages,  and  this 
one  we  found  no  exception.  The  young  would  con- 
gregate upon  the  window  side  of  the  cage,  and  would 
there  remain  until  starved  to  death.  Cockle-burs,  which 
were  readily  eaten  by  other  species,  were  only  occasion- 
ally nibbled.  This  locust  did  not  appear  in  destructive 
numbers  and  is  given  consideration  only  because  the 
eggs  and  young  are  frequently  confounded  with  those 
of  the  differential.  From  field  observations  the  period 
of  development  of  the  Carolina  locust  is  about  equal  to 
that  of  the  differential,  though  mating  and  egg-laying 
is  later. 

Chortophaga  viridifasciata. — This  species  is  widely 
distributed  through  the  South,  and  though  it  appears  in 
the  Mississippi  Delta  in  unusual  numbers  for  this  species,  the  damage 
done  was  not  appreciable.  It  is  here  considered  for  two  reasons:  First, 
the  young  appear  early  in  the  spring  and  have  been  frequently  mis- 
taken by  planters  for  the  differential.  The  young  of  the  first  brood 
appears  as  early  as  the  middle  and  last  of  March.  It  is  double  brooded, 
and  receives  a  second  consideration  because  the  eggs  act  as  food  for 
differential  egg  parasites  which  appear  earlier  than  August  15  and 
September  1.  The  first  brood  matures  about  May  15  and  the  last  from 
October  1  to  18.  As  hibernation  is  passed  in  the  egg  condition,  fall 
and  early  winter  cultivation  will  prove  destructive  to  the  eggs. 

fifelanoplw  nil  a  his  and  CJdoealtis  viridiz  were  also  found  upon  Da- 
homy,  but  not  in  sufficient  numbers  to  warrant  any  alarm.  Specimens 
of  attorns  were  received  from  the  alfalfa  sections  of  the   Red  River 


Fig.  17.— Egg  sac  of 
DictyophorusrecHe- 
ulattts  (original). 


30 


Pio.  18.-  Field  locu8l  [Orchdimum  agilt  ((original 


Valley  in  Louisiana, and  were  reported  by  Mr.  George  \V.  Arnold,  of 

Vanceville,   La.,  as  injuring  alfalfa.     No  opportunity  was  presented 

for  a  study  of  its  life  history  and 
habits. 

Field  locusts.  In  August,  Sep- 
tember, and  October  from  among 
the  coarse  ditch  grasses  and  those 
of  swamp  and  waste  places  come 
the  rasping  sounds  and  almost  con- 
tinuous buzz  of  the  field  locusts. 
Not  much  attention  has  been  paid 
to  these  long-horned  grasshoppers 

or  Locusts.     In  ordinary  seasons  they  are  not  prone  to  wander  from  the 

ditch  banks,  but  when  the  differential  prevails,  they  are  forced  into 

the  crops   in   search   of  food.      In    L898   and 

L899  considerable  damage  was  done.     The 

prevalence  of  a  species  of  Orchelimum  may 

he  imagined  when  in  certain  sections  of  the 

Delta,   particularly   Dear  Mound    Landing, 

Miss.,  hundreds  of  acres  of  dry  cotton  stalks 

were  found  to  contain   numbers  of  eggs  in 

every  branch  and  twig  (see  tie;.  i(.i  showing 

genera]  appearance  <>f  punctured  stalks  and 

position  of  exposed  eggs).    These  eggs  were 

also  \'ou\\d  abundant   in   the  tassel  stalks  of 

corn  in  widely  distributed  fields. 

The  eggs  hatch  during  the  latter  part  of 

May  and  continue  until  June  20.     Moisture 

has  much  influence  upon  hastening  incuba- 
tion and  hatching.     In  cages  the  stalks  of 

cotton  were  moistened  every  few  days,  and 

after  each  dampening  the  young  emerged 

more  numerously.      The  exact  number  of 

molts  was   not   determined.      After  molting 

the  young   devour  tin4   cast  skin  and  fre- 
quently  the\    have    been  found   devouring 

one  another.     Maturity  is  reached  very  ir- 
regularly owing  to  the  difference  in  the  time 

of  hatching  and  of  the  variations  of  devel- 
opment.    The  form  most  commonly  found 

upon    Dahomy  was  Orchelimum   agif*    (see 

fig.    L8).      It    matures   from  the   middle  of 

July  until  September  1.  deposits  eggs  from 

fifteen  to  thirty  day-  after  reaching  the  adult,  and  winters   in    the  egg 

condition.      In     L899    OrchMmwm   </</</<    was  a    real    enemy   to  cotton. 


Fig.  19.— Portion  of  cotton  stalk 
Bhowing  punctures  and 
Orchdimum  agik  (original). 


81 

but  the  habit  of   depositing   eggs   in  cotton  branches  and  the  tassel 

stalks  of  corn  suggest  the  burning  of  all  egg-infested  cotton  and  corn 
stalks,  which  has  been  the  common  practice  upon  some  plantation-. 

The  field  locust  eggs  are  common  hosts  of  two  hymenopterous 
parasites,  Eupelmus  xiphidii  Ashm.  MS.  and  Macroteleia  sp.  near 
fioridana  Ashm.  In  breeding  cages  the  latter  appeared  during  the 
month  of  June,  while  the  former  appeared  at  intervals  from  July  21 
until  October  15;  the  majority,  however,  emerged  between  August  25 
and  September  18,  and  all  were  females.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
the  parasite  delays  development  and  reaches  the  adult  stage  at  a  time 
when  locust  eggs  are  fresh  and  more  or  less  abundant. 

From  adult  locusts  a  number  of  Sareophagid  flies.  Hdicobia  helicis 
Town,  were  bred.  The  maggots  appeared  on  September  15,  pupated 
September  17.  and  matured  September  24. 

THE    RELATION    OF    CREVASSES    AND    RAINFALL    TO  THE  APPEARANCE  AND 
DISAPPEARANCE    OF    GRASSHOPPERS. 

Planters  operating  behind  the  levees  of  the  Mississippi  River  have, 
from  experience,  begun  to  expect  insect  outbreaks  of  one  kind  or 
another  after  overflows.  In  many  sections  the  Southern  grass  or  army 
worm  (Laphygma  frugiperda)  makes  its  appearance  in  damaging  num- 
bers, while  in  other  places  grasshoppers  and  the  army  worm  may 
both  become  destructive.  It  has  been  frequently  observed  that  pre- 
vious to  crevasses  predaceons  beetles  of  many  kinds  are  abundant  on 
alluvial  lands.  They  feed  upon  the  army  worm  and  easily  keep  them 
in  check.  During  crevasses  the  beetles  are  either  destroyed  or  are 
carried  to  other  places  by  the  flow  and  rush  of  the  crevasse  water. 
As  soon  as  the  water  recedes  and  the  land  is  put  in  cultivation  the 
army-worm  moths  from  neighboring  sections  fly  in.  and  as  this  species 
is  a  rapid  breeder,  .the  crops  of  the  overflowed  area  are  soon  infested 
with  armies  of  caterpillars.  It  is  usually  a  month  or  more  before  the 
predaceous  beetles  can  migrate  in  numbers  sufficient  to  check  and 
overcome  the  march  of  the  caterpillars. 

In  the  case  of  the  grasshopper  the  conditions  are  somewhat  differ- 
ent. A  part  of  the  overflowed  land  may  be  thrown  out  of  cultivation 
a  season  or  more,  and  thus  nesting  places  are  provided.  Should  heavy 
rains  prevail  during  May  and  June  of  the  season  immediately  follow- 
ing the  crevasse,  nothing  is  heard  of  the  ravages  of  grasshoppers:  but 
should  dry  summers  follow,  the  conditions  for  grasshopper  propaga- 
tion and  development  are  much  more  favorable,  and  complaints  are 
usually  common.  The  relation  of  predaceous  beetles  to  grasshoppers 
is  not  so  intimate  as  in  the  case  of  the  beetles  and  the  army  worm-. 
though  it  must  not  be  wholly  disregarded,  nor  are  the  rains  so  destruc- 
tive to  the  army  worms  as  to  grasshoppers. 


32 

The  above  statement  of  conditions  is  given  in  order  to  emphasize 
the  importance  of  a  study  of  the  conditions  of  insect  outbreaks. 
Were  we  better  acquainted  with  accurate  environments  preventive 
measures  would  Invariably  take  the  place  of  the  more  expensive  reme- 
dial ones. 

Capt.  Charles  L.  Potter,  Corps  of  Engineers,  Memphis,  Tenn.,  has 
kindly  furnished  the  following  list  of  the  breaks  occuring  in  the  Mis- 
->i--ip|)i  Kiver  (between  Rolling  Fork  and  Coahoma,  the  grasshopper 
infested  territory)  since  L887: 


Name  ol  crevasse. 

Distance 
by  river 

from 
Cairo. 

Date. 

Remarks. 

OlTutts 

mu «. 

HI 

630 
135 
138 
288 
132 
354 
503 
492 
380 

m 

300 
548 

Mar.    18,1890 
Mar.   26,1890 
Mar.   28,1890 
Mar.    28, 1890 

Skipu  ith  . . 

Mound  Landing 

Huntington 

Apr.     3,1890     A.bout  30 miles  above  Coahoma. 

Apr.     4, 1890 

Catfish  Point  . . 

Roberteonville 

Stella 

Deerfield  . 

Mar.    11,1891 
Apr.     3, 1891 
Mar.  28,  1897 
Mar.   30,1897 
Mar.   30,1897 
Apr.     4,1897 
Apr.    21,1897 

Sledge 

Stop  Landing 

Flower  Lake 

Shipland 

About  20  miles  above  Coahoma. 

Latitude  8'=about  10  miles  south  of  Rolling  Fork. 

There  were  no  crevasses  in  the  Mississippi  levees  from  1887  to  1890. 

A  small  crevasse  occurred  at  Greenville  in  1891  that  was  closed  before  the  discharge  was  appre- 
ciable. 
All  the  breaks  except  those  at  Flower  Lake,  Austim,  and  Shipland  are  located  between  Coahoma 

and  Rolling  Fork. 

Grasshopper  outbreaks  occurred  in  1891  and  1892,  and  again  in 
L898,  L899,  and  L900.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  rainfall  of  May 
and  el une,  L893,  and  of  the  same  months  in  1900  had  a  decided  effect 
in  suppressing  the  injurious  numbers  of  grasshoppers,  and  conversely, 
the  dry  summers  immediately  following  the  crevasses  encouraged 
greatly  their  development. 

The  following  table  of  rainfall  for  Greenville,  Miss.,  the  nearest 
meteorological  station,  furnished  by  Mr.  \Y.  S.  Bel  den,  acting  station 
director,  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  supports  the  above  conclusions. 

Rainfall  at  Greenville,  .Vis*.,  1888-1900. 


year. 

Jan. 

6. 1 1 



l^-v.t 

i  89 

1890 

1891 

L98 
3  79 

1892 

1.68 



l  81 

8  [9 



■ 

1. 94 

12.  11 

•2.71 
6.30 

8.60 

5.  27 
8.  19 

6.  2 1 
6.  2  I 
1.05 

2.  89 

1.57 
5,  1 1 


Mar. 


9.  88 
1 .  85 
6.63 

l.  13 
3.91 

•J.Tii 
9.  18 


Apr. 


II.  is 
2.  9  I 

6.21 


1.65 
2.  60 

11.01 
2. 21 
9.  7  1 
5.69 

1.  is 
1.71 

2.  is 
1.96 

2.19 

7.11 


May. 

June. 

July. 

4.54 

3. 95 

2. 28 

L03 

7.01) 

1.50 

1.  67 

2.31 

2.  2)5 

:;.  12 

3.02 

12.32 

2.93 

2.54 

9.  26 

7.  39 

6.  69 

O.lil 

0.30 

5.  09 

L.32 

1 1 .  50 

!.:;<> 

1.09 

(i.71 

0.85 

2.  19 

L.05 

8.16 

2.54 

1 .  :.7 

1.67 

L.61 

2.10 

1.02 

6.11 

10.39 
1.86 

■_'.()'.» 
2.  1 1 
3.50 
2.  87 


7.2:', 
1.84 
2.  2 1 
7.  51 
0.87 
0.  -13 


Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

2.69 

1.61 

3.  89 

3.89 

4.05 

0.  10 

5.92 

1.05 

1.91 

2.79 

1.  is 

3.94 

1.51 

0.86 

5.  10 

3.40 

6.  96 

0.80 

2.  11 

6.54 

2.  (17 

0.  34 

6.84 

1.87 

1.17 

1.58 

0. 86 

4.26 

0.37 

1.20 

3.  78 

3.  58 

0.71 

3.  20 

L78 

0.17 

T. 

2.  20 

2.  '.Hi 

S.  37 

6.12 

4.60 

1.51 

1.  is 

1.16 

0.94 

4.  23 

2.68 

5.08 

Annual. 


53. 29 
40.  95 
68.37 
51.24 

57.  SO 
18.69 
87.81 
15.  65 
32.  32 
44.66 
50.  70 
88. 92 
1  12.  98 


'  For  in  month- 


33 

The  habits  of  young  grasshoppers  to  seek  the  soil  crevices  during  a 
rain  results  in  the  burial  of  millions  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  resur- 
rection. This,  with  the  development  and  propagation  of  fungous 
diseases  among  the  nymphs,  are  the  most  potent  natural  agencies 
which  destroy  grasshoppers  during  wet  summers. 

The  fact  that  the  differential  locust  will  deposit  eggs  in  logs  has 
given  some  support  to  the  idea  that  crevasse  water  introduces  the 
grasshoppers.  There  are  sections  of  the  delta,  however,  which  are 
almost  annually  overflowed  by  the  high  water  of  the  Mississippi  and 
its  bayous  and  which  would  be  common  infesting  grounds  were  this 
the  case,  but  these  do  not  seem  to  suffer  except  when  dry  summers 
prevail. 

SOME  INSECTICIDE  EXPERIMENTS. 
By  C,  L.  Marlatt. 

A  scries  of  experiments  with  certain  insecticide  substances  was  made 
in  the  spring  and  early  summer  of  1900  and  are  herewith  recorded. 
The  experiments  were  especially  designed  to  test  the  effect  of  various 
substances  which  might  be  used  against  the  San  Jose  scale,  both  as  to 
their  effect  on  trees  and  efficiency  as  destroyers  of  the  scale.  They 
included  work  with  (1)  crude  petroleum:  (2)  retined  kerosene:  (3)  lime, 
sulphur,  and  salt  wash:  (4)  hot  water:  (5)  Bordeaux  wash  and  kerosene 
emulsion:  and  (6)  a  kerosene  and  lime  emulsion.  The  experiments 
with  the  latter  two  substances  were  made  at  the  suggestion  and  with 
mixtures  furnished  by  Professor  Galloway.  An  experiment  was  also 
made,  at  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  L.  O.  Howard,  with  a  heavy  lime  wash 
or  white\va>h.  For  the  washes  containing  lime  the  period  immedi- 
ately following  the  applications  was  unusually  favorable,  little  rain 
falling  for  upwards  of  two  or  three  weeks.  In  the  use  of  crude 
petroleum  and  kerosene  nothing  especially  new  is  to  be  noted  except 
the  fact  that  the  treated  trees  were  not  in  any  way  injured  and  the 
effect  on  the  scale  was  all  that  could  be  desired.  The  lime  and  salt 
wash,  rather  unexpectedly  for  the  East,  proved  to  be  a  very  efficient 
insecticide,  doubtless  owing  to  the  fact,  however,  that  the  weather 
conditions  were  exceptionally  favorable.  The  lime  emulsion  indicated 
good  results.  The  Bordeaux  and  oil  mixture  was  less  favorable,  and 
the  whitewash  spray,  while  most  promising  in  appearance  at  the  out- 
set, was  valueless  as  to  results  in  the  outcome. 

wit  and  refined  petroleum. — A  series  of  plum,  apple,  and  pear 
trees  were  sprayed  March  2'2  with  crude  petroleum  (43c  Baume).  the 
applications  being  made  thoroughly  enough  to  completely  wet  the  bark. 
The  plum  trees  were  thickly  infested  with  Diaspis pentagona  and  the 
pear  trees  with  the  San  Jose  scale.  Some  of  these  trees  had  been 
pruned  back  heavily,  and  others  were  straggling  trees  10  or  12  feet  in 

4670— No.  30—01- — 3 


34 

height.  The  application  was  made  between  2  and  3  p.  m.  on  a  bright, 
dry  day.  At  the  same  time  a  block  of  trees  was  sprayed  with  kero- 
sene, or  refined  petroleum.  The  weather  continued  fair  and  dry  for 
four  days,  and  there  was  do  rainfall  of  any  amount  prior  to  April  11. 
After  the  second  day  the  kerosene  had  very  largely  evaporated,  the 
treated  trees  showing  only  a  very  light  discoloration.  Trees  treated 
with  crude  oil.  on  the  other  hand,  were  still  very  wetandoily  looking. 
'The  full-grown  female  scales  of  Dia&pis perdagmia  were  thoroughly 
soaked  and  were  permanently  preserved,  apparently,  in  the  oil  and  had 
scarcely  changed  color  and  were  not  drying  up.  After  six  days  a 
slight  change  in  the  coloration  of  the  female  scale  insects  began  to  be 
observed,  the  color  slightly  altering  from  light  lemon  to  light  orange. 
This  change4  in  coloration  is  a  certain  indication  of  the  death  and  grad- 
ual drying  up  of  scale  insects,  which  usually  change  from  lemon  to 
orange  and  finally  to  brown  or  black  in  the  different  stages  of  drying 
after  being  killed  by  an  insecticide.  Three  weeks  after  the  application 
the  trees  treated  with  the  crude  oil  were  distinctly  greasy  in  appear- 
ance and  blackened  by  the  oil.  Trees  sprayed  with  the  pure  kerosene 
gave  no  indication  of. having  been  treated  at  this  time,  the  oil  having 
entirely  evaporated.  Curiously  enough,  the  grass  growing  about  the 
trees  treated  with  these  oils  seemed  to  be  more  affected  by  the  refined 
than  the  crude  oil,  being  somewhat  yellowed.  This  grass  had  been 
sprayed  pretty  heavily  with  the  oil  to  see  what  result  would  follow. 
Two  weeks  later— namely,  five  weeks  after  the  application — the  bark 
of  the  trees  treated  with  the  crude  oil  was  still  dark  and  distinctly  oily. 
All  the  trees  treated  with  oil  were  leafing  out  and  blooming  just  as 
freely  and  fully  as  untreated  trees.  The  grass,  which  had  shown  yel- 
lowing at  the  outset,  had  entirely  recovered  and  was  apparently  unin- 
jured, seeming  to  indicate,  at  any  rate,  that  grass  will  stand  a  consid- 
erable application  with  both  crude  petroleum  and  the  refined  oil  without 
being  killed.  This  fact  is  interesting  in  connection  with  the  use  of 
this  substance  against  white  grubs  on  lawns.      (See  PI.  I.) 

A////',  mlphur.  dud  s,iff  wash.  A  mixture  of  this  substance  was 
prepared,  differing  slightly  from  the  formula  given  in  Farmers'  Bulle- 
tin No.  1!>  in  that  the  amount  of  lime  was  somewhat  reduced,  namely, 
from  •!<>  to  30  pounds.  This  reduction  in  the  amount  of  lime  was  made 
simply  because  in  the  ordinary  formula  the  lime  is  very  greatly  in 
excess  and  remains  as  a  pure  lime  sediment  in  the  wash  and  has  to  be 
kepi  in  suspension  by  agitation.  Even  as  thus  reduced  there  is  still  a 
considerable  excess  of  lime.     The  formula  followed  was: 

Lime pound*.  -  ->0 

Sulphur do 20 

Salt do....  15 

Want  gallons..  <>0 

The  mixture  \\a^  steam  boiled  altogether  in  bar  rids  about  four  hours 
and  applied   Man  h  23  and   repeated  March  -4.     The  hot  liquid  was 


Div.  of  Entomology.  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agricul 


Plate  I. 


CO    ~ 

"°  ^ 

X    < 

o  o 
$2 


2    H 

m  x 
-     O 

?! 

I  - 


co  c 

>  c 

-  - 

—  ~ 


>  H 

co  x 

I   - 


35 

taken  immediately  from  the  barrels  at  almost  a  boiling  temperature 
and  sprayed  at  once  on  the  trees.  A  series  of  experiments  was  also 
made  with  the  preparation  of  this  wash  on  a  smaller  scale,  following 
practically  the  same  formula.  The  products  obtained  were  submitted  to 
the  Chemist  of  this  Department  for  analysis,  and  the  assistant  chemist 
charged  with  the  work  was  especially  advised  just  what  features  were 
supposed  to  he  desirable  and  what  points  the  analysis  should  bring  out. 
The  result  of  this  analysis,  made  by  Mr.  J.  K.  Haywood,  of  the 
Bureau  of  Chemistry,  as  reported  by  Dr.  H.  W.  Wiley,  Chief  Chemist, 
is  given  in  a  footnote.1  It  is  very  interesting  and  valuable  as  showing 
the  probable  exact  chemical  nature  of  the  wash  in  a  dry  climate  and 
correspondingly  also  in  a  wet  climate,  in  these  respects  practically  sub- 
stantiating the  theory  which  the  writer  had  announced  several  years 
ago.  The  practical  application  of  this  wash,  as  described  above,  was 
made  to  pear  and  plum  trees,  both  infested  with  the  San  Jose  scale, 
the  plum  trees  being  very  thickly  covered  with  the  scale  from  top  to 
bottom  and  the  pear  trees  scaly  from  the  butts  upward  three  or  four 
feet,  scattering  more  or  less  over  the  whole  tree.  The  plum  trees  had 
also  more  or  less  of  Diaspis pentagona. 

The  question  naturally  arose,  in  view  of  the  extreme  heat  at  which 
the  liquid  was  applied,  whether  any  results  gained  might  not  be  due 
to  the  high  temperature  of  the  liquid  rather  than  from  any  insecti- 
cidal  action.  To  test  this  matter  some  plum  and  peach  trees  covered 
with  ZHaspis  pmtag<ma  were  sprayed  on  March  '27  with  water  at 
boiling  temperature,  or  nearly  so.  the  nozzle  being  held  within  3  or  4 

xThe  lime,  salt,  and  sulphur  wash,  as  finally  prepared,  contains  the  following  sub- 
stances in  solution:  A  large  amount  of  (CaS)  calcium  sulphid,  some  of  the  higher 
sulphids  of  Ca  (as  CaS3  and  CaS.  i.  small  amounts  of  (OaSOJ  calcium  sulphate,  and 
traces  of  (CaSOs)  calcium  sulphite,  and  a  large  amount  of  (CaS.,03)  calcium  thio- 
sulphate; also  some  of  the  excess  of  Ca(OH)2  lime  is  in  solution.  The  residue  is 
composed  of  lime. 

On  evaporating  down  a  portion  of  the  wash,  with  blast  and  at  a  gentle  heat,  no 
decided  change  takes  place.  Calcium  sulphid  still  remains,  as  does  calcium  thio- 
sulphate.  A  small  amount  of  sulphur  is  deposited  (doubtless  from  the  polysulphids 
of  calcium ),  and  the  amount  of  calcium  sulphate  is  increased  to  a  small  degree. 

If  such  a  wash  were  applied  to  trees  in  a  dry  climate,  the  various  compounds  formed 
would  remain  for  a  long  time  and  only  gradually  decompose.  Eventually,  however, 
the  calcium  sulphid  would  decompose,  most  likely  forming  calcium  sulphate  and  some 
hydrogen  sulphid  (H2S),  and  the  calcium  thiosulphate  would  decompose,  first  setting 
free  sulphur  and  calcium  sulphite,  which  last  would  oxidize  to  calcium  sulphate. 
The  lime  would  change  to  calcium  carbonate  ( ( JaCOs )  and  the  polysulphid  would 
break  down,  yielding  sulphur  and  calcium  sulphid,  which  would  in  turn  change  as 
above. 

In  a  wet  climate  the  calcium  sulphid  and  the  calcium  thiosulphate  would  soon 
leach  out,  leaving  behind  small  amounts  of  calcium  sulphate  and  a  large  amount  of 
lime,  which  would  in  turn  form  insoluble  calcium  carbonate.  In  this  latter  case  the 
tree  would  still  remain  white  and  appear  to  still  have  the  wash  upon  it,  but,  in  fact, 
very  little  other  than  the  calcium  carbonate  would  be  left. 


36 

inches  of  the  bark  and  the  spraying  being  very  thoroughly  done.  At  a 
distance  of  L8  inches,  as  tested  by  spraying  on  one's  hand,  the  mist  or 
spray  \\a^  barely  warm;  at  a  distance  of  L2  inches,  fairly  hot,  and  very 
hot  at  from  1  to  6  inches.  The  bark  of  the  trees  sprayed  was  cold  to 
the  hand  as  Boon  as  spraying  stopped.  This  hot-water  spray  brought 
to  bear  closely  on  the  scale  insects,  it  was  thought,  would  kill  them, 
although  it  would  of  course  be  Impracticable  to  make  such  close- 
range  application  in  genera]  practice.  On  the  contrary,  however, 
the  scales  remained  in  a  vigorous,  healthy  condition,  and  apparently 
did  not  suffer  in  the  least  from  the  warm  douche. 

The  results,  therefore,  gained  by  the  lime,  sulphur,  and  salt  wash 
may  he  properly  ascribed,  it  is  believed,  to  a  true  insecticidal  value  of 
the  substance  rather  than  to  the  temperature  of  the  application.  The 
tree-  treated  with  this  wash  remained  nearly  snow-white,  little,  if  any, 
of  the  mixture  being  taken  off  by  the  light  snow  and  rain  of  the  25th 
and  26tb  instant.  Discoloration  of  the  Diaspis  began  to  be  noticed  on 
the  27th  instant.  On  April  13  the  Diaspis  scale  insects  killed  ranged 
between  20  and  50  per  cent  on  the  young,  vigorous  limbs.  All  were 
dead  on  the  old  trunk-,  where  the  wood  was  in  a  very  unhealthy  condi- 
tion owing  to  the  completeness  of  the  infestation,  both  by  the  Diaspis 
and  the  Aspidiotus.  The  San  Jose  scale,  so  far  as  investigation  could 
determine,  seemed  to  be  killed  completely;  no  insects  were  found 
on  tin1  young,  vigorous  shoots  or  older  wood.  The  trees  were  still 
whitened  with  the  wash,  which  had  not  been  carried  off  to  any  very 
great  extent  by  the  heavy  rains  of  April  11  and  12.  The  infested 
trees,  especially  those  that  had  been  pruned  back,  made  a  very  vigorous 
growth,  and  the  fruiting  and  growth  of  the  others  were  entirely 
satisfactory. 

In  this  experiment,  which  differed  so  remarkably  in  results  from 
other  experiments  made  in  the  East  with  this  substance,  it  must  be 
noticed  that  the  weather  conditions  were  exceptionally  favorable. 
The  application  was  made  on  March  23.  and  no  washing  rains  followed 
until  April  11  or  12.  the  light  rain  and  snow  of  the  25th  and  26th  of 
March  being  not  enough  to  vitiate  the  wash  particularly,  as  very 
little  of  the  snow  rested  on  the  trees,  and  much  that  did  gain  lodgment 
fell  or  was  blown  oil'  subsequently.  A  very  light  shower  occurred  on 
April  I.  hut  the  first  heavy  downpour  and  long  rain  occurred  on  the 
night  of  April  1  1. 

This  experiment  would  seem  to  indicate  that  if  one  could  count  on  a 
week  or  two  of  good  weather  following  an  application,  the  lime, 
sulphur,  and  salt  wash  might  be  as  beneficial  in  the  East  as  on  the 
Pacific  coast.  Its  cost  is  inconsiderable  compared  with  the  other  treat- 
ments for  the  San  Jose  BCale. 

During  the  summer  of  L900  the  writer  spent  considerable  time  in 
California  and  saw  a  great    manv  deciduous   orchards  that   had   been 


37 

treated  with  the  lime,  sulphur,  and  salt  wash.  This  treatment  had 
been  made  in  the  winter  or  early  in  the  spring,  before  the  trees  had 
begun  to  leaf  out.  and  at  the  end  of  August  the  trees  were  still  dis- 
tinctly whitened  by  the  application,  there  having  been  no  rains  in  the 
interim  to  remove  it  from  the  bark.  Under  such  circumstances  it  is 
plainly  to  be  seen  that  this  wash  has  the  maximum  chance  of  effective- 
ness, and  that  it  is  thoroughly  effective  under  these  conditions  is  beyond 
question.  Its  effectiveness  is  undoubtedly,  in  the  first  instance,  chiefly 
due  to  the  direct  insecticidal  action  of  the  mixture:  and  possibly, 
secondarily,  in  protecting  the  tree  by  the  limy  and  sulphurous  coating, 
which  remains  for  months  and  is  undoubtedly  distasteful  to  the  young 
scales  coming  from  old  individuals  which  may  have  escaped,  and 
perhaps  retains  enough  of  its  insecticidal  value  to  destroy  many  of 
them. 

Bordeaux  mixturt  keroseru  emulsion. — This  mixture,  suggested  by 
Professor  Galloway,  is  an  attempt  to  emulsify  a  small  amount  of  kero- 
sene in  a  comparatively  large  amount  of  Bordeaux  wash.  The  for- 
mula used  was — 

Gallons. 

Bordeaux  mixture 5 

Kerosene 1 

The  two  are  churned  together  until  the  oil  is  emulsified.  Some  peach 
trees  infested  with  Diaspis pentagona  were  sprayed  with  this  mixture 
on  April  11.  At  the  time  of  the  application  the  trees  were  just  com- 
ing out  in  leaf  and  bloom.  The  weather  conditions  immediately  fol- 
lowing the  application  were  favorable,  no  rain  falling  on  the  15th  or 
10th.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  rain,  however,  between  April  IT  and 
22,  This  mixture  seemed  to  have  little  effect  on  the  trees,  and  also 
little  effect,  if  any.  on  the  Bcale  insect.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
the  Diaspis  has  an  unusually  thick  scale,  and  is  therefore  more  than 
ordinarily  protected  and  correspondingly  immune  from  the  action  of 
insecticides,  as  A\as  illustrated  in  the  preceding  experiment  with  the 
lime,  sulphur,  and  salt  wash,  where  not  above  50  per  cent  of  this 
Diaspis  was  killed  by  a  wash  that  completely  exterminated  the  San 
Jose  scale.  The  testing  of  this  mixture  has  not.  therefore,  been 
wholly  satisfactory,  and  it  is  probably  worth  while  to  do  some  more 
work  Avith  it  in  the  future  with  other  scale  insect-. 

Kerosene-lirm  emulsion. — This  mixture,  recommended  to  the  writer 
by  Professor  Galloway  some  years  ago  and  experimented  Avith  in  a 
limited  way  at  the  time,  was  again  brought  to  his  notice  by  Professor 
Galloway,  Avho  prepared  for  his  use  an  emulsion  after  the  following 
formula : 

Fresh  lime pounds . .  4 

Water gallons . .   5 

Kerosene do 1 


38 

Slack  the  lime  slowly  wit li  small  quantities  of  water  in  order  to  get 
a  creamy  solution.  When  thoroughly  slacked  dilute  to  5  gallons,  add 
1  gallon  of  kerosene,  and  churn  until  emulsified  (one  or  two  minutes). 
This  mixture  was  applied  April  11  to  a  peach  tree  badly  infested  with 
Duutpis perUagona,  and  to  several  pear,  quince,  apple,  and  peach  trees 
not  infested  with  scale  insects,  the  application  to  the  latter  being  made 
more  particularly  to  determine  the  effect  of  the  wash  on  different 
kinds  of  trees.  The  application  whitened  the  trees,  not  entirely,  how- 
ever, obscuring  the  hark.  The  treatment  was  ver}T  heavy  and  thor- 
ough. It  is  possible  that  more  lime  would  have  been  an  advantage, 
making  a  better  emulsion  and  a  slightly  heavier  wash.  This  treatment 
was  made  at  the  same  time  as  the  Bordeaux  wash,  referred  to  above, 
and  experienced  the  same  weather  conditions.  The  effect  of  this  wash 
on  trees  was  not  unfavorable,  no  injury  being  noted.1  The  Diaspis  on 
the  one  scaly  tree  subjected  to  the  wash  were,  for  the  most  part,  dead 
or  dying  by  the  17th  of  April,  the  wash  holding  well  and  still  coating 
the  trees  uniformly.  This  lime  emulsion  is  worthy  of  a  more  extended 
trial,  and  it  is  hoped  that  others  who  have  opportunity  to  test  its  effect 
on  various  scale  insects  will  undertake  experiments  with  it. 

Whitewash, — At  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Howard  and  with  the  idea  of 
determining  the  effect  of  the  lime  in  the  several  lime  washes  used,  a 
good  sized  plum  tree  thickly  infested  with  Diaspis  pentagona  was 
subjected  on  the  same  date  as  the  last  two  experiments  to  a  thorough 
spraying  with  a  strong  whitewash,  prepared  by  slacking  2  pounds  of 
stone  lime  in  a  gallon  of  water.  The  application  left  a  thick  coat  of 
whitewash  on  the  tree,  entirely  obscuring  the  bark  and  leaving  the 
plant  snow-white.  At  the  time  of  treatment  the  buds  had  not  started. 
This  lime  wash  held  very  well  except  that  it  cracked  and  scaled  off  a 
little  in  spots,  due  to  the  action  of  the  wind.  In  the  main,  however, 
the  bark  of  the  tree  remained  snow-white  and  thickly  covered  for 
three  or  four  weeks,  in  fact,  at  the  end  of  the  summer  the  lime  still 
adhered  to  some  slight  extent.  The  tree  came  into  bloom  and  leaf 
later  on  without  any  checking  from  the  application.  The  adult  female 
scales  were  not  affected,  apparently,  at  all  by  this  application,  rather 
to  our  disappointment,  but  it  was  still  hoped  that  the  lime  coating 
would  remain  and  prevent  the  young  scales  from  settling  on  the  bark. 
The  young  of  this  species,  however,  appeared  very  late  in  the  spring 
and,  unfortunately,  before  that  time  the  lime  had  so  cracked  and 
xaled  oil  in  spots  that  little  benefit  wTas  gained  from  its  presence,  and 
the  second  brood  at  least  of  this  species  again  completely  covered  the 
tree.  A  lighter  coating  of  lime  as  indicated  by  the  lime,  sulphur,  and 
salt  wash  and  the  Bordeaux  wash,  and  also  tin4  lime  emulsion,  adhered 

lThe  infested  peach  tiff  firs!  mentioned  subsequently  died,  not  necessarily,  how- 

Bfi  ;i  resull  of  the  treatment,  but  more  likely  in  part  from  this  scale  infestation. 
The  other  peach  trees  were  nor  injured,  nor  did  any  of  the  other  trees  sniffer  from  the 
wash. 


J.  New  Series,  Div.  of  Entomology,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 


Plate  II. 


Plum  Tree  sprayed  with  a  heavy  Lime  Wash. 


39 

better  than  the  heavier  coat  experimented  with  in  this  instance  and 
perhaps  might  have  proven  of  some  slight  value  in  preventing  the  set- 
tling of  the  young  scales.  Further  than  this  the  pure  lime  wash 
appears  to  be  of  little  value  against  scale  insects,  at  least  as  indicated 
by  this  single  test.     (See  PL  II.) 

The  msectidde  value  of  formaldehyde  gas. — Some  experiments  were 
made  in  conjunction  with  Dr.  E.  A.  de  Schweinitz.  of  this  Department. 
several  years  since  to  determine  the  insecticide  value  of  formaldehyde 
gas.  The  results  of  these  early  trials  indicate  little,  if  any.  value  in 
this  gas  for  the  purpose  named.  This  year  opportunity  was  ottered 
to  test  this  gas  in  a  much  more  satisfactory  way.  A  patent  generator 
having  been  devised  by  some  local  parties  especially  for  germicide 
purposes,  the  owners  were  very  anxious  to  have  it  tested,  also  to  deter- 
mine its  value  as  a  means  of  destroying  insects.  Under  the  writer's 
supervision,  therefore,  it  was  used  in  the  first  instance  against  insects 
affecting  stored  products.  The  gas  was  generated  to  three  or  four 
times  the  amount  necessary  for  germicide  purposes  in  the  fumigating 
room  of  the  Department  which  contained  some  grain  badly  infested 
with  the  Angoumois  grain  moth  and  some  beans  thickly  stocked  with 
the  bean  weevil.  The  gas  killed  some  of  the  moths  which  were  flying 
about  thickly  when  the  generator  was  put  in  operation,  but  the  bean 
weevils  were  apparently  not  injured  in  the  least  by  it  and  a  good  many 
of  the  moths  were  not  killed.  The  generator  was  subsequently  placed 
under  a  tented  peach  tree  thickly  infested  with  Diaspis  pentagona. 
The  generation  of  the  gas  in  this  instance  was  again  in  enormous 
quantity  for  the  space  inclosed,  a  quart  of  alcohol  being  converted. 
The  effect  on  the  tree  was.  however,  most  disastrous,  the  leaves  show- 
ing almost  complete  withering  as  soon  as  the  tent  was  removed  and 
the  tree  dying  shortly  after.  The  scale  insects  were  immediately 
killed  by  the  application,  and  therefore  not  as  a  result  of  the  death  of 
the  tree.  The  effect  on  the  scale  insects  and  the  tree  may  have  been, 
and  was.  very  likely,  due  to  the  heat  which  the  generation  of  the  gas 
produces.  This  gas  is  generated  by  the  imperfect  combustion  of  wood 
alcohol  in  a  burner  or  stove  especially  designed  for  the  purpose.  The 
insects  in  the  fumigatorium  and  the  scale  insects  on  the  tree  were 
subjected  to  the  influence  of  this  gas  between  three  and  four  hours. 

A  recent  bulletin  of  the  Hatch  Experiment  Station  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Agricultural  College  (No.  69)  would  seem  to  indicate  that  this  gas 
has  little  or  no  value  as  a  fungicide. 

THE  CARRIAGE  OF  DISEASE  BY  FLIES. 

By  L.  O.  Howard. 

So  much  is  said  nowadays  of  the  carriage  of  a  certain  class  of  dis- 
eases by  mosquitoes  that  the  agency  of  certain  flies  in  the  transmis- 
sion of  another  class  of  diseases   is  apt,  to  a  certain  extent,  to   be 


40 

overlooked.  The  malaria]  perm  has  to  pass  through  the  body  of  cer- 
tain mosquitoes  before  attaining  its  highest  development  or  its  full 
life  history.  So  far  as  we  know  as  yet,  certain  mosquitoes  are  neces- 
sarj  secondary  hosts  in  the  development  of  this  disease  germ.  The 
malarial  germ  is  an  animal  organism.  It  belongs  to  the  group  of 
animals  known  as  Protozoa,  and  from  analogy  it  is  altogether  likely 
that  the  as  ye1  undiscovered  germ  of  yellow  fever  will  also  prove  to 
belong  to  the  same  class  of  parasitic  organisms.  The  parasite  which 
causes  Texas  fever  in  cattle  is  also  analogous  to  the  minute  spore 
which  causes  malaria  in  human  beings.  It  inhabits  the  blood  just  as 
does  the  malarial  parasite,  and  is  conveyed  by  a  biting  insect;  in  this 
case  tin1  cattle  tick,  just  as  the  former  is  conveyed  by  certain  mosqui- 
toes. With  diseases  caused  by  bacterial  organisms  (which  belong  to 
the  plant  kingdom  and  not  to  the  animal  kingdom),  a  biting  insect  is 
not  necessary  for  their  transfer  from  a  sick  individual  to  a  healthy 
one  in  the  majority  of  cases.  Such  diseases  are  notably  typhoid  fever, 
cholera,  and  pulmonary  consumption.  With  these  diseases,  and  more 
especially  the  first  two,  the  agency  of  non-biting  flies  as  transmitters 
becomes  important,  and  for  this  country  their  agenc}^  in  the  transfer 
of  typhoid  fever  is  especially  important.  It  has  been  known  for  some 
time  that  flies  may  carry  bacilli  and  bacteria  on  their  feet.  That  was 
experimentally  proven  by  allowing  flies  to  walk  over  cultures,  and 
after  allowing  them  to  walk  upon  sterilized  media  the  same  bacteria 
developed.  Moreover,  as  early  as  1888  it  was  shown  by  an  Italian 
investigator  that  flies  fed  upon  pure  cultures  of  typhoid  bacillus  were 
able  to  transmit  virulent  bacilli  with  their  excrement.  Further  early 
observations  showed  that  Hies  are  important  agents  in  the  transmission 
of  Asiatic  cholera. 

Typhoid  fever  was  astonishingly  prevalent  in  the  concentration 
camps  in  this  country  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Spain,  and  the 
disease,  received  a  thorough  investigation  at  the  hands  of  a  special 
commission  of  army  surgeons  appointed  for  the  purpose.  It  was 
shown  that  although  excellent  preventive  measures  had  been  recom- 
mended in  circulars  issued  by  the  Surgeon-General  of  the  Army,  these 
instructions  were  not  carried  out  in  many  camps  and  that  the  excre- 
ment of  the  troops  had  not  been  properly  cared  for.  Flies  were  found 
to  swarm  over  the  infected  fecal  matter  in  the  pits  and  then  proceed 
to  the  mess  tents  and  feed  upon  the  food  prepared  for  the  soldiers. 
This  was  convincingly  shown  by  the  fact  that  where  lime  had  been 
sprinkled  over  the  pits  Hies  with  their  legs  whitened  by  the  lime  were 
found  upon  the  mess  tables.  In  the  report  published  by  on.1  of  the 
members  of  the  commission  a  number  of  significant  and  interesting 
fad-  relating  to  typhoid  fever  were  brought  out.  It  was  shown,  for 
example,  that  the  virulent  germs  may  be  excreted  by  a  person  for 

Some  time  before  he  is  known  to  have  typhoid.  It  was  also  shown 
that  such  germs  may  be  found   in  the  excrement  for  a  long  time  after 


41 


apparently  complete  recovery  of  the  patient.  By  the  agency  of  flies 
which  visit  such  excrement  the  bacilli  may  be  carried  far  and  wide  to 
food  supplies,  and  by  their  consumption  may  enter  the  digestive  tract 
of  many  healthy  individuals. 

An  investigation  has  been  carried  on  in  this  office  for  the  purpose 
of  ascertaining  just  what  flies  breed  in  human  excrement  or  are  in 
the  habit  of  visiting  such  substances,  and.  conversely,  just  what  flies 
are  found  in  dining  rooms  and  kitchens  where  food  is  being  served 
and  prepared.  These  investigations  have  been  conducted  with  the 
utmost  care  and  in  many  different  parts  of  the  country.  A  very 
large  amount  of  material  was  studied,  and  the  detailed  results  were 
published  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Washington  Academy  of  Sciences 
(Vol.  II.  pp.  451-604).  Briefly  summarized,  it  was  found  that  the 
number  of  species  of  insects  which  breed  in  or  frequent  human  excre- 
ment is  very  large.  There  are  many  beetles  (44  species,  and  many 
hymenopterous  parasites);  none  of  these,  however,  are  especially 
significant  in  this  connection.     Flies  are  the  important  creatures,  and 


Fi<;.  20. — Mueca  domestica:  Puparium  at  left;  adult  next,  with  enlarged  antenna;  larva  and  enlarged 
parts  at  right — enlarged  (original  I. 

of  these  77  species  were  studied.  Thirty-six  of  them  were  found  to 
breed  in  human  faeces,  while  41  were  simply  captured  while  visiting 
this  substance  or  feeding  upon  it.  Some,  of  course,  were  scarce  and 
others  were  very  abundant. 

Now,  in  order  to  ascertain  exactly  which  ones  of  these  are  important 
in  the  disease-bearing  function  more  than  2,300  flies  were  caught  in 
kitchens  and  dining  rooms  in  different  parts  of  the  country  from  Mas- 
sachusetts to  California  and  from  New  York  to  Louisiana,  and  were 
all  carefully  examined.  It  was  proven  that  of  the  excrement  flies  six- 
species  are  found  in  houses  in  sufficient  numbers  to  constitute  them 
dangerous  species.  The  most  abundant  species  found  in  or  on  excre- 
ment do  not  occur  in  kitchens  and  dining  rooms,  but,  as  just  stated, 
these  six  species  are  sufficiently  abundant  in  both  relations  to  become 
very  dangerous. 

At  the  head  of  these  six  species  must  stand  the  common  house  fly. 
Muaca  domestica  (fig.  20).     This  insect  constituted  over  (.'.s  per  cent  of 


42 


tlif  whole  number  of  flies  captured  in  kitchens  and  dining  rooms,  and 
while  it  was  by  no  means  one  of  the  species  most  commonly  captured 
upon  excrement,  it  was  shown  conclusively  that  under  certain  condi- 
tions this  insect  may  he  a  factor  of  the  greatest  importance  in  the 
spread  of  intestinal  disease.  In  the  most  cleanly  and  best  cared  for 
portions  of  a  large  city  these  conditions  do  not  exist.  The  admirable 
water  supply  and  sewerage  systems  pertinent  to  such  localities — the 
admirable  water-closet  facilities  which  sanitary  plumbing  has  carried 
t<»  such  a  degree  of  excellence  obviate  in  a  large  measure  typhoid- 
transfer  possibilities,  yet,  even  in  such  places,  where  the  vessels  used 
in  the  sick  room  are  not  promptly  disinfected  and  where  by  reason  of 
neighboring  stables  house  flies  are  especially  abundant  (since  these 
creatines  breed  by  preference  in  horse  manure),  the  possibility  may 
still  exist,  but  in  army  camps  where  faeces  are  left  exposed  the  house 
tlv   will   and  does   breed   in   this  substance   in   large  numbers  and    in 


Fig.  21.—  Drosophila  ampetophila:  </,  adult;  /*,  antenna  of  same;  c,  base  of  tibia  and  first  tarsal  joint  of 
same;  <l,  puparium,  side  view;  <,  puparium  from  above;  /,  full-grown  larva:  g,  anal  spiracles  of 
Bame  (author's  Illustration). 

towns  where  the  box-privy  nuisance  is  still  in  existence  (and  this 
applies  to  very  many  farmers'  houses  in  the  country)  the  house  fly  is 
a  constant  source  of  danger.  Moreover,  in  the  low  quarters  of  a 
large  city  where  there  is  lax  sanitary  supervision,  in  the  open  lots 
surrounded  by  an  ignorant  population,  faeces  are  frequently  deposited 
in  the  open,  sometimes  in  close  proximity  to  kitchens,  and  thus  may 
become  very  dangerous. 

The  other  species  of  Mies  which  are  of  especial  importance  are  as 
follows:  The  little  fruit  flies  of  the  genus  Drosophila,  and  especially 
Drosophila  ampelopkila  (tig.  21),  which  is  so  commonly  found  in 
houses  in  the  autumn,  attracted  to  overripe  or  partly  decaying  fruit, 
and  which  sometimes  swarm  in  great  numbers  about  the  fruit  stands  in 
markets,  is  also  an  excrement  breeder,  and  at  certain  times  of  the  year 
become-  an  important  form  in  the  disease-transfer  relations.  The 
species  known  as  the  little  house    fly  (  Homolom yia  ntiiiruhwis  and    //. 


43 

br<  vis  (fig.  22),  a  small  species  sometimes  with  a  light-colored  abdo- 
men, which  is  found  commonly  upon  windows  though  not  nearly  so 
abundantly  as  the  house  fly.  is  also  a  dangerous  species.  The  other 
most  dangerous  forms  are  the  stable  fly  (Stomoarys  caleitrcms)  (fig.  23) — 
a  luting  fly  which  looks  so  much  like  the  hou<e  fly  that  it  can  hardly 


Fig.  22. — Homalomyia  Unci*:  Female  at  left;  male  next,  with  enlarged  antenna;  larva  at  right- 
enlarged  (original). 

be  distinguished  from  it.  but  which  has  a  piercing  proboscis  and  bites 
severely — and  the  forms  known  as  Fhora  femvrata  and  Sa/rcoplvouga 
trivialis. 

In  brief,  the  results  of  the  observations  indicate — 

(1)  That  in  the  interests  of  health,  and  especially  as  obviating  the 


Fig.  23. — Stomoxys  calcitrans:  Adult,  larva,  puparium,  and  details — enlarged  (original). 

possibility  of  the  transfer  of  typhoid  fever  by  flies,  the  box-privy 
nuisance  should  be  abolished  wherever  it  exists,  even  with  ordinary 
farmhouses,  and  some  form  of  earth  closet  should  be  substituted, 
preferably  one  in  which  the  contents  can  be  removed  and  securely 
buried  at  very  frequent  intervals. 


44 


Fig. 


(2)  Excrement  should  never  be  deposited  in  the  open  without  being 
immediately  covered  with  a  thick  layer  of  earth. 

(3)  In  the  low  quarters  of  cities  the  especial  attention  of  boards  of 
health  should  l»c  directed  toward  such  open  deposits, and  such  a  depo- 
sition should  be  consid- 
ered a  punishable  mis- 
demeanor, and  the  reg- 
ulation should  be  vig- 
orously enforced.  Of 
course,  such  offenses  are 
generally  committed  aft- 
er dark,  and  it  is  difficult 
to  trace  the  offender,  but 
the  first  responsible  per- 
son who  notices  it  should 
be  required  to  report  it 
to  the  police  so  that  it 
may  be  removed  or  cov- 
ered as  soon  as  possible. 
Dead  animals  are  so  re- 
ported and  cared  for. 
but  human  excrement  is 
much  more  dangerous 
than  dead  animals. 

(4)  Every  effort  should  be  made  by  boards  of  health  in  cities  and 
by  private  persons  in  the  country  to  limit  the  breeding  of  the  common 
house  fly,  and  to  accomplish  this  result  a  strict  supervision  of  stables 
in  which  horses  are  kept 
should  be  carried  on.  As 
stated  above,  the  great 
majority  of  house  flies 
breed  in  horse  manure. 
The  breeding  is  rapid,  and 
a  small  pile  of  horse  man- 
ure may  he  responsible  for 
an  enormous  number  of 
flies.  The  writer  has  found 
by  careful  experimental 
work  with  many  different 
insecticidal  substances  that 
chlorid  of  lime  is  the  most 
efficient  substance  which 
can  be  applied  to  manure  piles  in  order  to  destroy  the  maggots  of 
house  fly,  hut  to  treat  an  outdoor  manure  pile  of  large  size  with  chlo- 
rid of  lime  would  he  an  expensive  matter.  The  writer  has  suggested, 
therefore,  that  some  receptacle  for  the  manure  from  each  stable  he 


H.—Scatophaga  furcata  (a  common  excrement  fly):  Male, 
wiili  dosed  wings — enlarged  (author's  illustration). 


Fig 


Mm) //in  micans (a common  excrement  fly):  Broken 
pupariumal  right—  enlarged  (original). 


45 

constructed,  either  in  the  form  of  a  large  closet  with  a  door  opening 
outside  a^  well  as  one  inside,  or  that  a  pit  be  made.  The  stable  should 
be  cleaned  daily  or  every  other  day.  and  each  time  that  a  day's  or  two 
days*  accumulation  is  added  to  the  pile  in  the  closet  or  pit  a  shovelful 
of  the  chlorid  of  lime  should  be  thrown  over  it.  When  the  manure  i> 
needed  for  the  farm  or  garden  it  may  just  as  conveniently  be  shoveled 
upon  a  wagon  from  the  outside  door  of  such  a  closet  as  described  as 
from  an  outside  pile.  Thorough  experiments  were  carried  on  some 
time  since  at  the  stable  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  it  was 
found  that  by  a  little  careful,  inexpensive  work  of  this  kind  the  num- 
bers of  house  flies  of  the  whole  neighborhood  were  rapidly  and  enor- 
mously lessened. 

THE  GREEN  CLOVER  WORM. 

i  Plathypena  scabra  Fab.  | 

By  F.  H.  Chittenden. 

One  of  the  commonest  insects  about  the  District  of  Columbia  is  the 
Deltoid  moth.  Plathypena  soabrd,  the  larva  of  which,  called  the  green 
clover  worm,  feeds  on  various  leguminous  plants,  particularly  clover. 

During  the  season  of  1897,  and  again  in  1899,  this  larva  was  frequently 
observed  in  connection  with  observations  on  insects  attacking  beans 
and  peas  in  this  vicinity. 

RECENT    OCCURRENCE. 

Early  in  June.  1897,  larva?,  mostly  half  grown,  were  observed  on 
beans  in  the  District  of  Columbia:  also  on  soy  beans  August  18,  and 
later  nearly  or  quite  mature  on  peas  September  4.  During  autumn 
they  were  also  observed  on  a  species  of  tickweed  (Meibomia  sp.). 

June  14.  1899,  Mr.  T.  A.  Keleher.  of  this  office,  brought  specimens 
of  the  larvae  found  on  beans  growing  in  the  city  of  Washington. 
About  the  same  time  the  writer  observed  this  species  of  larva  on 
vetch,  a  forage  plant  growing  on  experimental  plats  at  this  Depart- 
ment. Larvae  were  still  being  found  on  vetch  and  bean  until  June  24. 
August  1  larvae  were  found  on  Lima  bean  at  Marshall  Hall.  Md.,  and 
August  10  on  the  same  plant  at  Cabin  John.  Md..  and  during  Septem- 
ber larvae  were  again  obtained  in  great  numbers  on  a  species  of  Mei- 
bomia  in  the  former  locality. 

Although  it  appears  probable  that  this  species  feeds  to  all  practical 
purposes  exclusively  upon  the  Leguminosa?.  it  is  evidently  capable  of 
subsisting  upon  other  plant-,  as  was  proved  by  the  finding  at  different 
times  by  the  writer  of  larva1  that  agree  with  Plathypena  s<:-<ihr<i  in 
every  discernible  particular  on  both  strawberry  and  blackberry. 

July  31  a  moth  of  this  species  was  reared  from  a  larva  obtained 
on  strawberry  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  August  2  a  second  speci- 
men wa<  reared  from  a  larva  from  the  same  strawberry  patch.     The 


46 

pupal  condition  in  this  case  was  passed  in  eight  days,  and  the  chrysalis 
was  concealed  in  a  rollcd-up  leaf  of  strawberry.  Taking  into  consid- 
eration a  previous  observation  on  the  larva's  occurrence  on  straw- 
berry in  L899,  it  would  seem  that  this  is  a  true  larval  food  plant. 

The  moth  is  typical  of  the  Deltoid  group  of  Noctuida3,  a  group  of 
genera  which  derives  its  English  name  from  the  triangular  outline 
of  the  moths  when  at  rest,  which  is  suggestive  of  the  Greek  letter 
Delta  (J). 

DESCRIPTION    OF   THE   SPECIES. 

The  moth,  like  many  others  of  this  group,  is  remarkable  by  reason 
of  its  palpi,  which  are  long  and  prominent,  projecting  in  front  like  a 
snout,  hence  the  name  snout-moth.  The  hind  wings  are  unusually 
broad.     The  color  is  variable,  dull,  sometimes  very  dark  brown,  form- 


FlQ.26.—Flathypena  scabra:  a.  moth  in  natural  position  with  wings  folded;  b,  same  with  wings 
expanded;  c,  egg  from  above;  d,  egg  from  side;  <\  penultimate  stage  of  larva  from  above;  /,  same 
from  Bide;  .</.  head  of  larva— all  enlarged;  e,  d,g,  greatly  enlarged  (original  i. 

ing  the  ground  color  varied  with  black  and  gray,  arranged  in  the  aver- 
age specimen  in  a  pattern  similar  to  that  figured  in  the  illustration  at  h. 
A  lather  unusually  light-colored  individual  was  selected  as  the  type 
for  illustration  in  order  to  show  the  markings  in  full,  since  in  dark 
specimens  the  pattern  is  often  very  obscure.  A  moth  at  rest  is  shown 
at  a.  'The  moth  is  also  variable  as  regards  size,  the  average  expanse 
being  about  an  inch  and  a  quarter,  although  a  series  of  specimens 
before  the  writer  shows  a  still  greater  expanse,  and  one  individual 
measures  but  five-eighths  of  an  inch. 

A  technical  diagnosis  of  the  genus,  detailed  specific  description,  and 
bibliography  is  given  by  Or.  John  B.  Smith  in  his  revision  of  the 
Deltoid   moths  (Bui,  U,  S.  Nat.   Museum,  No.  48,   1895,  pp.    1 10-112). 


47 

The  distribution  there  accorded  is  "Nova  Scotia  to  Texas,  east  of  the 
Rock}'  Mountains."  In  the  national  collection  is  a  series  showing  a 
distribution  from  Maine  to  Texas.  The  localities  here  represented  and 
recorded  include  the  following: 

Maine;  Williamstown,  Mass.  (Grote);  Syracuse  and  New  York,  N.  Y.;  Boonton, 
N.  J.,  "common  everywhere"  (Smith);  Marshall  Hall,  Cabin  John,  Md.;  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. ;  Virginia;  St.  Louis,  Kirkwood,  Mo.;  Dayton.  Ohio  (Pilate);  Hearne, 
Dallas,  and  elsewhere  in  Texas;  Canton,  Kirkwood,  Miss.;  Macon,  Ga.;  Alabama; 
Woodstock,  111.;  Volga,  S.  Dak.,  and  St.  Anthony  Park,  Minn.  (Lugger).  Also 
recorded  from  Winnipeg,  Manitoba  (Hanham). 

About  the  city  of  Washington  this  moth  is  one  of  our  latest  as  well 
as  earliest  species,  individuals  occurring  commonly  in  the  writer's 
experience  about  the  Department  buildings  throughout  the  month  of 
November,  as  late  as  the  first  week  of  December,  and  as  early  as  March 
10.  An  individual  was  observed  flying  on  the  last-mentioned  date  in 
a  temperature  of  51°  F.,  which  is  about  the  lowest  temperature  in 
which  any  save  exceptional  species  of  insects  are  active. 

This  insect  is  a  near  relative  of  the  hop- vine  snout  moth.  Hypena 
ha  in  >il 7  Hair.,  with  which  species  it  was.  in  fact,  confused  at  an 
earlier  date. 

The  green  clover  worm  has  not  attracted  much  attention  on  account 
of  its  injuries,  but  good  accounts  of  it  have  been  given  by  Prof.  J.  H. 
Comstock  in  the  Annual  Report  of  this  Department  for  1879  (p.  252), 
and  in  the  Canadian  Entomologist  for  July,  1881  (Vol.  XIII,  pp. 
137-138),  the  latter  paper  by  Mr.  Coquillett.  of  this  Division. 

THE    EARLIER    STAGES    OF    THE    INSECT. 

The  egg. — Owing  to  an  oversight,  the  eggs  obtained  hatched  before 
a  detailed  description  could  be  made.  Dorsal  and  side  views  of  the 
egg.  however,  were  drawn,  and  are  illustrated  herewith  (tig.  26,  c,  d), 
and  from  these  a  general  idea  of  the  egg  as  it  looks  under  the  micro- 
scope may  be  had.  From  memory  the  writer  believes  that  the  eggs 
were  light  gray  in  color  and  at  least  tinged  with  iridescence.  Follow- 
ing are  Mr.  Coquillett's  descriptions  of  the  egg  and  of  the  first  stage 
of  the  larva: 

Globular,  slightly  flattened  above,  more  decidedly  so  below;  lower  half  smooth; 
upper  half  deeply  grooved,  the  interspaces  rounded  and  marked  with  fine  transverse 
impressed  lines:  whitish,  the  upper  half  sometimes  dotted  with  dark  brown;  trans- 
verse diameter,  nearly  0.5  mn). 

Measurements  showed  an  average  diameter  of  0.5  mm  and  a  height  of 
0.35  nim. 

THE    LARVA. 

F'n-sf  stage. — "Body  green;  a  dark-colored  dorsal  line,  edged  each 
side  with  a  whitish  line;  a  white  subdorsal  and  stigmatal  line;  pilifer- 
ons  spots  green,  each  bearing  a  short  black  hair:  venter  green;  head 
polished  green;  body  provided  with  only  li  legs." 


48 

In  coloration  this  larva  is  somewhat  Buggestive  of  the  common  cab- 
bage  looper,  Plusia  brassiccs,  but  the  form  is  entirely  different,  being 
much  more  slender,  and  although  the  species  is  a  semi-looper,  like 
Plusia,  it  is  not  at  all  likely  to  be  mistaken  for  it.  The  colors  are 
somewhat  more  constant  in  the  several  stages. 

77"  penultimatt  stage.  The  larva  is  green  and  white  striped  and  is 
in  its  mosl  characteristic  colors  when  in  the  penultimate  stage,  as  it 
loses  its  striation  to  a  great  extent  when  fully  matured.  The  general 
(•(•lor  is  dear,  translucent  green,  a  shade  or  two  lighter  than  the  bean 
or  other  leguminous  leaves  upon  which  it  feeds.  It  is  about  ten  times 
as  long  a-  wide  and  segmentation  is  well  marked.  The  body  is  widest 
about  the  middle,  tapering  gradually  toward  each  end.  the  last  seg- 
ments being  narrowest.  The  head  is  of  nearly  the  same  color  as  the 
remainder  of  the  body,  a  trifle  lighter  and  less  translucent.  The  entire 
surface  of  the  body  is  sparsely  covered  with  long,  slender,  and  dark 
brown  hair-.  The  piliferous  warts  project  above  the  surface,  but 
otherwise  are  not  noticeable,  being  only  a  very  little  lighter  in  color 
than  the  body.  The  thoracic  legs  are  nearly  the  same  color  as  the 
head.  There  are  only  three  abdominal  prolegs.  The  anal  prolegsare 
long  and  project  well  beyond  the  last  segment.  There  are  six  white 
stripes  on  the  body  which  alternate  with  the  general  green.  The  green 
dorsal  line  is  a  little  darker  than  the  general  color  of  the  body.  There 
is  a  rather  wide  white  stripe  each  side,  a  latero-dorsal  narrow  white 
stripe,  and  a  broader  irregular  lateral  stripe.  The  prothoracic  folds 
arc4  strongly  pronounced,  particularly  in  the  region  of  the  legs;  abdom- 
inal folds  also  pronounced.  Length  in  this  stage,  20-24ram:  width, 
2  |   2.6n,m. 

Last  larval  stage. — After  the  final  molt  the  larva  usually  loses  to  a 
great  extent  its  striated  appearance1  and  becomes  nearly  uniform  paler 
green  in  color  as  well  as  stouter.  The  head  is  sometimes  somewhat 
yellowish,  as  is  also  the  first  thoracic  segment.  The  ocelli  are  twelve 
in  number,  arranged  at  the1  sides  of  the  head  in  three  pairs,  as  shown 
in  the  figure  at  g. 

In  alcohol  the  larva  loses  its  color,  being  apt  to  be  turned  black 
unless  first  boiled  in  water,  when  the  color  becomes  milk  white.  Length 
at  maturity.  25-29mm;   width.  2.8-3.0mm. 

The  penultimate  stage  is  figured  because,  as  previously  remarked, 
more  characteristic  of  the  species  than  the  final  stage  before  pupation. 

THE    PUPA    AM)   cocoon. 

Tfu  pupa.  The  pupa  is  dark  brown  and  presents  rather  good  char- 
acters for  description,  but  as  this  stage  has  previously  been  very  fully 
characterized  by  Professor  Comstock,  in  the  report  of  this  Depart- 
ment for  L879,  hi-  description  is  transcribed: 

ther  -tout,  -lark  mahogany-brown.     Wing  sheaths  and  crural  sheaths  closely 
red;  the  fonper  obtusely  rounded  and  extending  to  the  end  of  the  tilth  abdom- 


49 

inal  segment  Stigmatal  tubercles  quire  prominent.  Dorsum  of  thorax  ami  wing 
sheaths  coarsely  Bhagreened.  Dorsum  of  abdominal  segments  rather  sparsely  pane-, 
tulate,  the  posterior  border  of  each  segment  being  smooth  and  shining.  The  anal 
segment  at  its  end  is  furnished  with  several  i  a  variable  number)  minute  recurved 
hook-like  spines.  From  the  apex  of  the  head  to  the  end  of  the  fourth  abdominal 
segment  the  dorsum  is  elevated  into  a  slight  ridge,  more  marked  upon  the  abdominal 
segments  than  upon  the  thorax. 

The  cocoon. — Pupation  takes  place  in  a  somewhat  loosely  built  but 
not  fragile  cocoon,  those  in  our  rearing  jars  having  been  formed  just 
upon  the  surface  of  the  earth.  The}"  were  constructed  of  particl 
sand  joined  together  with  silken  web  and  sometimes  attached  to  Leaves 
or  other  vegetation.  They  are  of  elliptical  form  and  somewhat 
depressed,  and  measure  on  the  outside  about  16-lsmm  in  length  and 
■  in  width. 

ON    THE    HABITS    OF    THE    SPECIES. 

In  the  report  of  this  Department  for  1879  (loc.  cit.)  attention  was 
called  tu  the  abundance  of  the  moth  in  the  District  of  Columbia  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  lv7^-7'.«.  when  it  was  seen  flying  on  warm,  sunshiny 
day>.  while  in  the  summer  months  larva3  were  found  so  commonly 
upon  clover  "that  in  many  places  one  could  hardly  make  a  swing  of 
the  beating  net  through  the  grass  without  capturing  one  or  more  of 
them." 

Tho  larvae  are  quite  active,  and  when  disturbed  either  let  them- 
selves down  to  the  ground  by  means  of  their  webs  or  quickly  throw 
themselves  from  their  food  plant  after  the  manner  of  many  Pyralids. 
The  moth  is  a  rapid  flyer,  and  although  normally  keeping  in  conceal- 
ment, is  often  found  exposed  on  the  walls  of  buildings  and  on  windows 
in  conspicuous  places. 

In  Bulletin  No.  3  of  the  United  States  Entomological  Commission 
the  late  Professor  Riley  had  a  short  note  on  this  species,  in  which  he 
stated  that  the  larva  fed  also  on  locust  (Robinia).  and  gives  some  notes 
on  the  hibernation  of  the  species.  He  says  that  this  insect  hibernates 
in  the  imago  state  all  over  the  country  and  that  in  Missouri  the  chrys- 
alis may  also  be  found  under  bark  in  winter,  but  the  habit  of  hiber- 
nating in  the  pupa  state  is  doubtless  exceptional.  The  late  and  early 
appearance  of  the  moth  would  alone  indicate  that  hibernation  takes 
place  in  the  mature  condition. 

Mr.  Coquillett  traced  the  insect  through  its  various  stages  at  Wood- 
stock. 111.  The  periods  were  as  follows:  From  the  deposition  of  the 
eggs  to  hatching,  four  to  six  days:  larval  stage,  twenty-rive  days,  and 
from  the  spinning  of  the  cocoon  to  the  issuance  of  the  imago,  twelve 
to  fourteen  days.  Only  two  larval  molts  were  observed,  the  time 
from  hatching  to  the  first  molt  being  seventeen  days,  from  the  first  to 

4b7o— No.  30—01 i 


50 

fche  second  molt,  three  days,  and  from  the  second  molt  to  the  time  of 
spinning  the  cocoon,  five  days.  Several  individuals  which  were  kept 
under  observation  at  this  oilier  transformed  from  larva  to  pupa  June 
23,  and  the  moths  issued  July  4,  having  passed  eleven  days  as  pupae. 
Of  the  number of  generations  of  this  insect  Mr.  Coquillett  observed 
that  there  appeared  to  be  only  two  broods  in  a  season  in  the  latitude  of 
Woodstock,  III.,  and  Professor  Comstock  says  there  are  certainly  two 
and  perhaps  three  broods  in  a  season.  The  writer's  observations  tend 
to  show  at  least  three  well-marked  generations  for  the  latitude4  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  the  firsl  generation  usually  developing  toward 
the  middle  of  dune,  the  second  early  in  August,  and  the  third  some- 
time late  in  September  or  early  in  October.  There  is  no  indication, 
however,  of  any  great  regularity  in  the  issuance  of  the  moths,  since 
they  have  been  reared  at  this  office  at  various  other  times  than  on  the 
dates  mentioned.  The  exact  dates  of  issuance  as  recorded  in  our 
note's  are:  June  L2,  IT).  23,  28,  30;  July  4.  8,  1<'»:  August  1:  Septem- 
ber 2,  5,  »'>.  25,  i^T.  Moths,  however,  as  has  previously  been  observed, 
have  been  found  much  earlier  than  in  June  and  as  late  as  the  first  week 
of  December,  at  the  latter  time  on  several  occasions,  once  when  the 
thermometer  registered  54    F, 

NATURAL    ENEMIES. 

A  single  parasite  was  reared  from  the  pup?,  of  this  moth  September 
7.  L899,  and  on  being  referred  to  Mr.  Coquillett  was  identified  as  the 
the  Tachinid  fly,  Exorista  Handa  O.-S.  This  is  the  second  natural 
enemy  that  has  been  observed  for  the  green  clover  worm  to  the 
writer's  knowledge,  the  other  being  a  chalcis  fly,  Ewplectrus platyhy- 
j><  nit  How.  The  latter  was  reared  at  this  office  duly  11.  L882,  from 
material  from  the  District  of  Columbia.     (Bui.  5,  o.  s.,  Div.  Ent.,  p.  27.) 

REMEDIAL    TREATMENT. 

Ordinarily  the  injuries  effected  by  this  clover  worm  are  so  inconsid- 
erable as  not  to  necessitate  any  special  line  of  treatment.  Id  is  one  of 
several  common  insects  that  live  habitually  on  clover  and  which  by 
their  combined  effort  devour  a  certain  proportion  of  the  clover  crop 
Over  considerable  territory.  Poisons  are.  of  cOurse,  out  of  the  (jues- 
tion  in  pasture  land  and  in  clover  fields,  and  on  lawns  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  frequent  mowing  with  a  lawn  mower  is  all  that  is 
necessary,  since  the  insects  live  freely  exposed  upon  their  food  plants 
dining  the  day  and  do  not  resort  to  the  plans  of  concealment  resorted 
to  hv  cutworms. 


51 

REPORT   UPON  AN  INVESTIGATION   OF   THE   CODLING   MOTH  IN 

IDAHO  IN  1900. 
By  C.  B.  Simpson,  Special  Agent. 

The  following  report  upon  an  investigation  of  the  codling  moth  in 

the  State  of  Idaho  is  made  in  accordance  with  the  authorization  of  the 

etary  of  Agriculture  and  instructions  of  the  Chief  of  the  Division 

of  Entomology: 

Upon  reaching  Boise  I  commenced  a  rigid  inspection  of  orchards  in 
that  vicinity  and  observed  the  methods  used  against  the  codling  moth 
and  the  results  of  the  same.  Numerous  cages  were  started  for  the 
study  of  the  life  history  of  the  insect.  Many  articles  upon  the  insect 
were  published  in  the  leading  papers.  These  articles  were  copied  by 
many  of  the  other  papers.  I  also  had  a  long  conference  with  Professor 
Aldrich.  of  the  University  of  Idaho,  in  regard  to  the  codling  moth. 

EXTENT    OF    INJURY. 

Indications  of  damage  caused  by  the  codling  moth  were  seen  in  every 
section  of  the  State  which  I  visited  where  apples  are  grown.  By 
report  the  moth  is  present  all  over  the  State,  except  in  a  few  limited 
localities  in  the  mountains.  From  my  observation  I  can  say  without 
hesitation  that  50  per  cent  of  the  apple  crop  of  Idaho  was  destroyed 
by  the  codling  moth  in  1900.  According  to  Mr.  MePherson  the  loss 
in  South  Idaho  and  about  Lewiston  for  the  districts  was  75  per  cent. 

In  untreated  orchards  I  found  a  great  difference  in  the  percentage 
of  apples  infested.  The  injury  ranged  from  40  per  cent  to  practically 
l(n  i  per  cent.  In  the  small  orchards  and  isolated  trees  in  and  about 
Boise  I  have  been  unable  to  find  sound  apples.  In  the  larger  untreated 
orchards  which  were  more  or  less  isolated  I  found  in  some  cases  the 
injury  to  be  about  40  per  cent.  In  orchards  well  cared  for  I  estimated 
the  injuries  to  vary  from  50  to  0.05  per  cent.  In  an  orchard  near 
Boise  that  was  sprayed  and  banded  -14  per  cent  of  the  crop  was  lost. 
In  an  orchard  in  the  city  of  Boise  that  was  sprayed  with  arsenites  and 
banded  the  loss  was  only  about  20  per  cent.  In  more  or  less  isolated 
orchards  that  were  well  cared  for  the  loss  was  found  to  be  10  per  cent 
or  less.  In  another  orchard  near  Boi^e  which  had  been  sprayed  three 
times  and  not  banded  the  injury  was  from  90  to  98  per  cent.  In  an 
orchard  that  was  only  banded  the  injury  was  about  60  per  cent. 

About  Lewiston  the  damage  is  somewhat  less  than  in  the  southern 
part.  Professor  Aldrich  tells  me  that  in  1899  the  damage  about  Mos- 
cow was  21  per  cent,  while  in  1900  it  was  only  about  1<»  per  cent. 

I  have  been  informed  that  in  small  valleys  in  the  mountains  the 
codling  moth  does  no  damage.  The  apple  is  the  fruit  most  infested. 
The  injury  to  pears  never  exceeds  0.05  to  10  per  cent. 


52 

INTRODUCTION    AM)   SPREAD. 

Previous  to  1887  the  codling  moth  was  practically  unknown  in  Idaho. 
It  was  probably  present  before  that  time,  but  did  so  little  damage  aa 
not  to  be  noticed. 

The  moth,  without  doubt,  came  into  the  northern  part  by  way  of 
the  Snaki  River  valley.  Its  spread  was  rapid,  although  checked  to 
some  extent  by  the  long  distance  between  orchards. 

The  sections  which  are  shipping  apples  are  now  all  infested.  The 
newer  orchards  are  more  or  less  free,  but  can  not  remain  so  very  long. 

RESISTANCE   OF   VARIETIES  OP  APPLES. 

Only  scattered  observations  were  made  upon  this  point,  and  these 
do  not  harmonize.     Some  of  the  varieties  in  order  of  damage  sustained 

are: 

1.  Pewaukee  (always  badly  infested).  6.  Wealthy  (very  variable). 

2.  Spitzenberg.  7.  Ben  Davis  (very  variable). 

3.  Bell-flower.  8.  Rome  Beauty  (very  variable). 

4.  King.  9.  Winesap  (but  little  infested). 

5.  Gravenstein. 

This  question  is  believed  to  be  one  of  the  most  important  to  be 
worked  out,  as  in  general  the  apples  given  as  least  infested  are  the 
best  varieties  for  Idaho. 

LIFE    HISTORY    OF   THE    CODLING    MOTH. 

The  life  history,  as  usually  given,  applies  to  the  insect  in  a  climate 
far  different  from  that  of  Idaho.  On  this  account  I  spent  much  time 
in  studying  the  variations  in  the  life  history. 

THE    EGG. 

The  eggs  can  be  found  at  any  time  during  the  summer,  either  upon 
the  fruit  or  upon  the  upper  surface  of  the  leaves.  In  certain  orchards 
the  eggs  were  almost  entirely  upon  the  fruits;  in  orchards  near  by 
they  were  nearly  all  upon  the  leaves.  Where  apples  were  in  abun- 
dance there  were  but  few  eggs  upon  the  leaves,  and  where  apples  were 
scarce  but  few  eggs  were  upon  them.  Apparently  the  moth  prefers 
to  lay  its  eggs  upon  the  fruits. 

The  eggs  have  been  described  as  whitish,  milk-like  spots.  They 
adhere  closely  to  the  fruit  or  leaf,  and  even  after  hatching  the  shells 
remain  for  a  long  time.  When  the  egg  is  a  few  days  old  a  brown 
horseshoe-shaped  band  appears  indicating  the  embryonic  larva. 

THE    LAKVA. 

In  from  about  six  to  eight  days  the  larva  is  fullyformed  and  breaks 
itis  way  out  of  the  shell.     Most  of  them  come  out  through  the  top 


53 

covers,  but  a  few  were  observed  in  which  the  larvae  had  evidently 
emerged  through  the  lower  surface  of  the  egg  next  to  the  apple  or 
leaf. 

The  young  caterpillar  is  about  one-fifteenth  of  an  inch  in  length  and 
is  of  a  semitransparent  color.  Later  dark  spots  appear  around  the 
hairs. 

The  young  larva,  after  piercing  the  apple,  makes  a  shallow  mine  just 
under  the  skin.  Those  mines  can  be  easily  recognized  by  the  lighter 
color  and  by  the  excrement  which  is  cast  out.  The  larva?  which  enter 
by  the  calyx  also  take  their  first  few  meals  at  the  surface  inside  the 
calyx. 

By  counting  infested  apples  on  unsprayed  trees  1  found  that  about 
60  per  cent  of  the  larva?  of  the  first  brood  enter  at  the  calyx  end.  In 
the  later  broods  but  few  enter  the  calyx  end.  Many  enter  the  apple 
at  the  stem  end.  The  greater  proportion,  probably  from  60  to  90  per 
cent,  enter  at  any  part  of  the  apple.  A  favorite  place  of  entrance  is 
at  the  point  where  two  apples  touch. 

At  the  end  of  four  or  five  days  the  larva  commences  to  tunnel  toward 
the  central  portion  of  the  fruit.  Arriving  at  the  center,  it  commences 
irregular  excavations,  which  are  filled  with  excrement,  the  pellets  of 
which  are  bound  together  by  silken  threads.  Surrounded  by  abun- 
dance of  food,  the  insect  grows  rapidly,  casting  its  skin  many  times. 
1  have  found  many  burrows,  sometimes  as  large  in  diameter  as  a  full- 
grown  larva,  in  which  no  larva  could  be  found;  therefore,  I  believe 
that  sometimes  a  larva  feeds  upon  more  than  one  fruit.  In  all  cases 
where  fruits  touch  they  are  both  injured. 

While  one  larva  usually  feeds  upon  but  one  apple,  one  apple  may 
be  eaten  by  many  larvae.  A  large  apple  was  found  with  thirteen  worm- 
holes  in  it,  both  entrance  and  exit,  and  three  larvae,  of  various  sizes, 
were  feeding  inside.  It  is  a  very  common  occurrence  to  find  from 
four  to  seven  holes  in  an  apple.  These  different  holes  are  usually 
made  by  insects  of  different  broods.  In  a  badly  infested  orchard  the 
earlier  apples  rarely  had  but  one  insect  in  each,  A  larval  stage  of 
from  ten  to  fourteen  days,  as  given  by  Professor  Card,  is.  I  think, 
nearly  correct  for  Idaho. 

On  summer  apples  and  most  fall  apples  the  effect  of  the  insect  is  to 
cause  the  fruit  to  ripen  prematurely.  In  the  winter  varieties,  such  as 
Winesap,  there  is  no  such  ripening.  In  all  cases  the  fruit  is  rendered 
unfit  for  use.  When  full  grown  the  larva  eats  its  way  to  the  surface  of 
the  apple.  The  burrow  is  kept  closed  by  f  rass,  or  sometimesan  adjacent 
leaf  is  fastened  over  the  hole  with  silk.  Having  eaten  as  much  as  it 
desires,  the  larva  pushes  out  the  plug  or  removes  the  leaf  and  leaves 
the  fruit.  In  warm  weather  the  worms,  for  the  greater  part,  leave 
the  apples  in  the  early  evening  or  night;  but  in  colder  weather,  in  the 
fall,  they  emerge  during  the  heat  of  the  day.     If  the  fruit  has  fallen, 


54 

the  larva  crawls  along  the  ground  to  :i  suitable  place  to  .spin  its  cocoon. 
The  worms  have  two  modes  <>t"  Leaving  the  fruit  left  on  the  tree.  In 
some  cases  they  drop  by  a  silken  thread  to  the  ground.  I  have 
observed  a  Larva  hanging  by  this  thread,  and  many  threads  were 
noted  hanging  from  the  trees.  The  other,  and  by  far  the  most  com- 
mon method,  is  for  the  larvae  to  crawl  from  the  apple  to  a  branch  and 
thence  to  the  tree  trunk. 

I  pon  leaving  the  apple  the  worm  immediately  seeks  a  place  to  spin 
the  cocoon.  'The  place  usually  selected  is  under  rough,  loose  hark,  in 
cracks  or  holes  of  the  t  ice  trunk  and  larger  branches,  under  hands  or 
cloths  on  the  trees-  iii  fact,  in  almost  any  dark  and  tight  crack  or 
crevice.  Many  cocoons  are  placed  in  cracks  in  the  ground  about  the 
trees.  This  is  especially  true  when  the  tree  trunk  is  smooth  and  offers 
no  suitable  place.  Mr.  McPherson  says  he  has  found  many  cocoons 
among  the  clods  of  earth  in  his  orchard.  Where  apples  are  stored  the 
worms  spin  the  cocoons  in  the  hoxes.  I  have  found  as  many  as  30 
cocoons  in  and  on  one  box.  Having  found  a  satisfactory  place,  the 
larva  spins  a  tough  silken  case.  In  the  earlier  broods  the  larvae  spin 
their  cocoons  quite  thin  and  do  not  usually  use  other  substances  than 
silk  in  its  construction.  The  last  brood,  however,  build  their  cocoons 
thicker,  and  in  nearly  all  cases  hollow  out  a  space  for  it  and  mix  little 
pieces  of  wood,  bark,  or  cloth  with  the  silk.  The  larva  is  bent  in  a 
U  shape  in  the  cocoon.  If  the  cocoon  be  destroyed  the  larva  will  set 
to  work  Immediately  to  build  another  or  to  repair  the  old  one  if  it  be 
not  completely  destroyed. 

THE   PUPA. 

In  from  three  to  five  days  in  the  summer  the  larva  sheds  its  skin 
and  becomes  a  pupa.  In  the  last  brood  the  larval  stage  lasts  until  the 
spring.  The  pupa  is  at  first  of  a  yellowish  color,  later  becoming 
brown  and  then  bronze  in  color.  When  the  moth  is  ready  to  emerge, 
the  pupa,  aided  by  the  spines  on  the  abdominal  segments,  wriggles 
it-elf  out  of  the  cocoon.  I  have  seen  empty  eases  that  had  been  thrust 
through  heavy  muslin  which  was  used  as  a  band. 

These  empty  pupal  skins  are  familiar  objects  upon  infested  trees. 
I  once  counted  50  of  them  protruding  from  under  pieces  of  bark  in  a 
space  of  about  a  square  foot.  During  the  warmer  season  the  time 
spent  in  the  cocoon  is  from  seven  to  eleven  days.  Many  stay  in  a 
Longer,  hut  very  few  a  shorter  time.  The  last  brood  stay  in  the 
cocoon  about  eight  months. 

THE   MOTH. 

The  moth  is  ;i  beautiful  insect  whose  front  wings  have  the  color  of 
brown   watered  silk,  and   are   crossed    by  lines  of  brown  and  gray 

scale-.      Near  the  lip  of  the  wing  LS  a  large  hronze-colored  spot.     The 


55 

hind  wings,  which  are  concealed  daring  repose,  are  of  a  grayish  color. 
The  moth  varies  in  size,  hut  never  expands  over  an  inch.  The  sexes 
may  be  distinguished  readily  by  the  fact  that  the  male  has  a  streak  of 
black  hairs  upon  the  upper  surface  of  each  hind  wing,  and  upon  the 
under  surface  of  each  front  wing  there  is  a  long  blackish  spot.  The 
relative  number  of  moths  of  each  sex  i<  about  equal. 

The  adult  insect  is  rarely  seen.  In  my  summer's  experience  I  saw 
but  live.  These  were  either  resting  upon  the  upper  surface  of  the 
leaves  or  were  upon  the  trunk  or  larger  branches.  In  warm  evenings 
by  aid  of  a  light  I  saw  a  few  flying  about  the  trees. 

It  has  long  been  known  that  the  moth  is  not  attracted  to  lights.  I 
examined  the  contents  of  an  electric  (arc)  light  globe  that  was  near 
an  orchard  without  finding  a  single  codling  moth. 

It  has  been  observed  that  the  moths  feed  upon  apple  juice,  and  I 
saw  two  moths  feeding  upon  the  juice  of  a  crushed  apple.  Mr.  Hitt 
tell-  me  that  it  is  common  to  find  moths  about  cider  mills.  I  have 
found  that  if  a  piece  of  ripe  apple  was  placed  in  a  cage  of  moths  they 
would  lay  egg>  in  abundance,  and  if  the  apple  was  wanting  no  eggs  or 
but  few  would  be  laid. 

After  laying  egg**  the  moths  in  cages  die  in  about  a  week. 

BROODS    OF   THE    IXSECT. 

In  viewT  of  the  fact  of  the  differences  of  altitude  and  temperature  in 
Idaho  there  must  exist  a  corresponding  difference  in  the  number  of 
broods. 

Upon  arriving  at  Boise  I  immediately  commenced  work  upon  this 
question.  I  found  the  overlapping  of  broods  to  be  something  remark- 
able. From  July  7  to  about  September  1.  I  could  find  in  the  field  all 
stages  of  the  insect  except  the  adult,  which  I  could  breed  in  cages. 
From  my  band  records  I  find  that  while  I  kept  records  there  were 
larvae  going  under  bands  every  day. 

From  the  records  of  Mr.  Ayers,  of  Boise  (as  given  later),  we  find 
that  in  1897  there  were  larva?  under  the  bands  every  week  from  June 
25  to  October  19.  To  sum  up.  we  have  every  day  throughout  the 
season  moths  emerging  and  laying  eggs,  eggs  hatching,  larva1  coming 
out  of  apples  and  spinning  cocoons,  and  larva?  changing  to  pupae. 

This  fact,  together  with  the  number  of  broods,  certainly  explains 
why  the  codling  moth  is  more  injurious  in  the  West  than  in  the  East. 
The  overlapping  can  be  accounted  for  by  the  difference  in  rate  of 
development  of  different  individual  insects. 

Professor  Aldrich  says  that  in  the  section  from  Boise  to  Weiserand 
about  Lewiston  there  are  at  least  three  broods,  and  part  of  a  fourth 
was  observed  at  Boise  this  \~ear  (1899).  Mr.  McPherson,  Mr.  Hitt, 
and  others  have  arrived  at  the  same  conclusion.  Without  doubt  the 
number  of  broods  in  Fremont  and  Bingham  counties  is  less 


56 


The  following  are  the  band   records  taken  by  Mr.  Ayers,  of  Boise, 
on  l-|o  i  rees: 


Dafa 


July  2 

July  '.» 

July  16 

July  2  I 

August  2 

Augusl  9. 
August  18.     . 

•  I  2  •  . 
September  2  . 
September  10. 
September  21 . 
Octob 
October  19  ... 


LarvEe. 


704 
1,266 

7)0 
606 
290 

684 
1 .  526 
1 .  227 
1,840 
1,642 


Date. 


Julv.")     

Julv  18 

Julv  20 

July  27 

August 

Augusl  in 

August  17 

Augusl  21.... 
August  81.... 
September  7 . 
September  1 1 
September  22 

October  l 

October  10.... 


1,118 
2,201 
2,  020 
1,  154 
1,335 
963 
1,095 
1,125 
1,580 
1.  171 
1,860 
1,965 
1,694 
1, 125 


From   the  preceding  record,  from  that  of  Professor  Aldrich   taken 
at  Juliaetta  for  L899,  and  my  own  I  have  compiled  the  following  table: 


1897. 

1898. 

1899. 

1900. 

First  brood: 

July   16 
Aug.     9 

July    13 
All?.   10 

Julv   21 
Aug.  12 

Aug.  18 
Sept.    i 

Sept.  25 

Julv   15 

Aug.  4 
Aug.  25 

Second  brood: 

Sept.     2      Aug.  31 
Sept.    10       Sept.      7 

Oct.        1      Sept.  22 

Sept.    1 

Sept.   25 

Third  brood: 

From  these  records,  supplemented  by  observation.  L  can  say  defi- 
nitely that  there  are  three  broods  in  the  vicinity  of  Boise  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  Snake  River  Valley. 

As  to  the  fourth  brood  I  have  no  definite  information  at  hand. 
Several  growers  have  told  me  that  such  a  brood  exists  in  part.  At 
certain  periods  it  is  impossible  to  say  to  what  brood  an  insect  belongs. 
For  instance,  in  L900,  if  a  half-grown  larva  was  found  October  4  it 
would  be  impossible  to  know  whether  it  was  the  last  of  the  third  or 
the  first  of  the  fourth.  When  cold  weather  comes,  there  are  many 
Interesting  things  apparent.  If  young  larvae  are  left  in  the  fruit  on 
the  ground,  they  evidently  perish.  However,  if  taken  inside  with  the 
apples  they  complete  their  development,  and  if  not  destroyed  insure 
a  crop  of  moths  for  the  following  spring.  About  September  5  it  was 
noticed  that  the  Larvae  that  had  spun  cocoons  were  not  transforming, 
hut  were  still  in  the  larval  state,  while  those  that  had  reached  the  pupa 
state  were  developing  slowly  and  the  moths  were  emerging.  It  is 
evident  t  hat  it  takes  a  higher  temperature  for  the  insect  to  change  from 
larva  to  pupa  than  from  pupa  to  adult. 

MOISTURE    AND    SEAT. 

There  is  great  mortality  among  the  eggs  of  this  insect,  the  direct 
of  the  hot  sun  causing  many  to  die. 


r>7 

In  the  larval  state,  especially  when  young-,  there  are  many  agencies 
of  destruction.      I  have  found  tips  of  branches  upon  which  there  was 
but  one  apple.      On   the   leaves  near  by  there  were   half  a  dozen  or  so 
hatched  eggs,  while  the  apple  contained  but  one  larva.      In  < 'li- 
the larva  would  have  to  crawl  20  feet  before  rinding  another. 

In  man}  cases  I  have  found  from  '2  to  5  per  cent  of  the  larvae  dead 
before  they  had  commenced  their  burrow  to  the  center  of  the  apple 
from  the  mine  under  the  skin.  There  are  very  few  deaths  due  to 
fungus  and  bacteria  in  the  dry  region.-.  In  many  orchards,  in  which 
the  water  used  for  irrigation  is  allowed  to  stand  around  the  trees,  the 
number  of  infested  apples  is  markedly  less  than  in  those  orchards 
where  irrigation  i>  by  ditches.  Also  one  does  not.  as  a  general  rule, 
find  as  many  worms  under  bands  on  trees  which  have  moist  soil  around 
them.  The  only  explanation  is  that  the  moisture  either  cause-  the 
insects  to  die  by  fungus  or  bacteria  or  to  seek  other  places.  This 
method,  however,  has  grave  disadvantages,  since  water  allowed  to 
stand  in  an  orchard  will  sooner  or  later  kill  the  tret-. 

NATURAL    ENEMIES. 

I  did  not  succeed  in  finding  any  egg  parasites,  but  within  a  pupa  I 
found  a  pupa  of  a  Hymenopter.  but  the  parasite  did  not  emerge.  It 
was  probably  a  Pimpla.  In  another  pupa  I  found  many  pupa?  of  a 
Hymenopterous  parasite,  which  died  before  becoming  adults.  Under 
some  neglected  bands  were  many  -ilk  cocoons,  probably  of  a  Micro- 
gaster.  Although  they  are  not  bred  directly  from  the  codling  moth, 
there  is  little  doubt  but  that  they  were  from  this  insect. 

While  the  larvae  are  seeking  a  place  to  spin  their  cocoons  in  the  day- 
time they  are  preyed  upon  by  ants  and  birds.  Chickens  allowed  in  an 
orchard  eat  them  readily.  Often  I  have  observed  holes  in  the  bark, 
and  upon  examination  found  empty  cocoons.  One  evening  several 
bats  were  noticed  flying  around  apple  trees  and  probably  feeding  upon 
the  moths. 

PREVENTIVE    MEASURES. 

One  of  the  best  preventive  measures  is  following  the  best  general 
horticultural  practices,  such  as  keeping  the  soil  and  trees  in  healthy 
and  vigorous  condition  and  keeping  a  close  watch  upon  the  orchard. 
If  a  fruit  grower  has  no  codling  moths,  what  should  he  do  to  keep  them 
out  of  his  orchard  1  The  answer  to  this  question  has  many  conditions, 
according  to  location,  etc.  To  begin  with,  every  grower  should  be 
familiar  with  this  insect  in  all  its  stages  and  know  how  to  tight  it.  An 
orchard  may  be  at  such  an  altitude  that  the  insect  will  not  be  a  very 
serious  pest  In  this  case  the  small  amount  of  damage  should  not  be 
an  excuse  for  letting  it  alone.      It  would  be  well  for  the  grower  to  be 


58 

careful  in  importing  infested  fruit  and  to  exercise  utmost  vigilance  in 
watching  his  orchard, and  if  the  moth  is  found, even  in  small  numbers, 
do  expense  should  In-  spared  to  apply  the  proper  remedies  immediately. 

One  source  of  trouble  that  can  be  easily  prevented  is  that  when 
apple-  are  stored  the  larvae  emerge  from  the  fruit,  spin  their  cocoons, 
and  upon  emerging  as  moths  in  the  spring  find  easy  access  to  the 
orchard.  I  studied  two  well-marked  cases  of  this.  At  Mr.  C.  M. 
Kiggins's  place  apples  were  stored  in  boxes  in  a  cellar  in  which  there 
were  open  ventilators.  I  found  many  old  cocoons  in  and  about  these 
boxes.  When  I  examined  the  orchard,  duly  9,  I  found  that  in  trees 
nearest  the  cellar  practically  all  of  the  apples  were  infested.  In  going 
from  the  cellar  a  noticeable  decrease  was  observed,  and  in  the  farthest 
part  of  the  orchard  the  injury  varied  from  5  to  80  per  cent. 

In  the  well-kepi  orchard  of  Hon.  Edgar  Wilson  a  similar  case  was 
noted. 

These  examples  show  the  futility  of  remedial  measures  when  the 
moth  has  such  a  start.  Both  Mr.  Wilson  and  Mr.  Kiggins  are  fully 
aware  of  the  above  conditions,  and  will  take  care  that  the  mistake  is 
not  repeated.  Either  of  three  courses  may  be  followed:  To  fumigate 
with  hydr^cyanie-acid  gas  while  the  larva'  are  in  the  cocoon,  to  put 
screens  over  the  holes  and  crush  the  moths  which  will  collect  there,  or 
not  to  store  apples  on  the  premises. 

In  some  cases  picking  the  apples  early  to  escape  a  coming  brood  is 
practiced.  If  the  stages  of  the  insect  are  known,  this  method  may  be 
followed  to  much  advantage. 

REMEDIAL    MEASURES. 

In  lighting  this  insect,  the  first  question  which  presents  itself  is,  In 
what  stage  can  the  insect  be  best  attacked,  and  how? 

As  a  result  of  the  work  that  has  been  done  on  this  subject,  it  is 
evident  that  any  mixture  strong  enough  to  kill  the  e^o;  will  injure  the 
tree.      Further  work  may  throw  more  light  upon  this  subject. 

At  two  periods  in  this  stage  the  insect  is  vulnerable,  and  a  larger 
portion  of  the  remedies  have  been  used  at  these  periods. 

After  the  young  larva1  hatch,  and  before  they  have  started  for  the 
center  of  the  apple,  has  long  been  recognized  as  tin1  most  vulnerable 
point  in  the  life  of  the  insect.  At  this  point  spraying  is  a  most  effect- 
ive remedial  measure. 

I  found  that  in  Idaho  the  fruit  growers  were  using1  manv  kinds  of 
spraying  solutions,  with  varying  results. 

A  patent  mixture,  composed  largely  of  carbolic  acid  and  coal  tar. 
WBS  Used  by  sonic.  This  solution  is  supposed  to  have  a  smell  about  it 
that  keeps  tie-  moth  away  from  the  tree.  The  best  I  have  seen  this 
Solution    do.    with    several    excellent    sprayings,    in    conjunction    with 


59 

bands,  was  to  save  66  per  cent.  I  believe  that  what  good  effects  are 
derived  from  its  use  are  due  to  the  killing  of  the  larvae  with  which  it 
comes  in  contact. 

Many  of  the  fruit  growers  add  an  arsenite.  usually  par  is  green,  to 
the  carbolic  compound.     The  results  with  this  mixture  are  varying. 

Others  have  used  kerosene  in  the  arsenite.  thereby  combining  both 
poisonous  and  contact  insecticide.  One  grower  used  this  combination, 
and  writes  me  that  "There  are  no  wormy  apples  to  be  seen'"  (in  his 
orchard),  and  that  the  apples  injured  by  all  sources  amounted  to  only 
about  0.05  per  cent. 

One  difficulty  is  to  get  these  different  ingredient.-*  to  mix  well. 
Whale-oil  soap  is  used  in  combination  with  other  sprays,  but  1  could 
find  no  facts  in  regard  to  the  results  of  its  use. 

By  far  the  greater  number  of  growers  use  the  arsenites  alone  Of 
these  arsenites  paris  green  is  most  used,  in  the  proportion  of  1  pound 
to  L50  gallons  of  water,  with  from  1  to  '2  pounds  of  freshly  slacked 
lime. 

>ome  are  using  London  purple,  and  others  are  using  a  combination 
of  London  purple  and  Paris  green.  Many  are  using  the  lime  arsenite 
with  excellent  results.  In  fact,  wherever  any  of  these  arsenites  are 
used  intelligently  good  results  are  obtained.  Some  growers  are  preju- 
diced against  certain  of  these  arsenites  on  account  of  past  experiences. 
In  two  cases  I  found  that  they  had  omitted  the  lime,  and  in  both  cases 
the  foliage  was  badly  burned. 

My  observations  have  led  me  to  believe  that  it  makes  but  little 
difference  as  to  what  arsenite  is  used  if  it  is  well  applied. 

The  pumps  used  were  of  all  kinds  and  conditions.  Many  were  using 
nozzles  which  threw  a  coarse  spray  that  was  valueless.  The  time  for 
spraying  is  a-  essential  as  the  spraying  itself,  and  I  wish  that  this  fact 
could  be  impressed  strongly  upon  the  Idaho  growers.  One  can  readily 
aee  that  a  -pray  would  do  but  little  good  when  the  maximum  of  a 
brood  are  going  under  bands,  compared  with  a  spray  when  the  maxi- 
mum of  a  brood  is  hatching  from  the  egg.  To  secure  good  results. 
there  must  be  at  least  three  sprayings,  and  in  extremely  bad  cases  it 
is  advisable  to  spray  six  times. 

If  the  injury  for  the  previous  season  was  large.  I  would  advise  two 
sprayings  while  the  calyx  remained  open — one  immediately  after  the 
blossoms  have  fallen  and  the  other  in  about  a  week.  If.  however,  the 
injury  of  the  previous  season  was  not  large,  one  spraying  from  five 
days  to  a  week  after  the  blossoms  have  fallen  may  answer.  In  all 
cases  I  would  advise  the  two  sprayings,  as  it  is  well  to  be  on  the  safe 
side. 

It  has  become  one  of  the  best  known  principles  of  spraying  that 
these  first  sprayings  are  the  most  efficient,  and  if   it  were  not  for  the 


60 

Dumber  of  broods  in  Idaho  these,  I  believe,  would  be  sufficient.  In 
short,  the  poison  is  put  in  the  calyx  cup.  the  calyx  doses,  and  when 
the  young  larva  enters  the  calyx  for  its  first  few  meals  it  gets  some  of 
the  poison.  As  about  60  percent  enter  the  apple  at  this  point,  it  is 
very  plain  thai  this  is  the  golden  opportunity  in  this  combat.  Pro- 
fessor  Aldrich  finds  that  II  percent  of  the  larva'  entering  the  calyx 
end  are  destroyed  by  this  spraying.  An  insect  killed  at  this  time  not 
<>nl\  saves  the  apple,  hut  reduces  the  number  of  the  insects  of  the  fol- 
lowing broods.  By  a  single  spraying  and  by  banding  one  prominent 
grower  tells  me  that  he  can  save  50  per  cent  of  his  apples.  Manypeo- 
plespray  only  once  a  season,  and  consequently  the  effect  of  it  is  lost 
later  in  the  season.  If  rains  wash  oil'  these  sprays,  they  should  he 
repeated  immediately. 

The  next  spraying  should  he  done  when  the  second  brood  is  enter- 
ing the  fruit.  Find  the  maximum  of  the  preceding  brood  going  under 
the  hands  and  spray  about  two  weeks  later.  It  would  probably  be 
better  to  spray  a  few  days  earlier  than  two  weeks.  A  few  growers 
watch  the  increase  of  spots  on  the  apples.  The  later  sprayings  should 
he  determined  in  the  same  way.  Other  sprayings  can  he  done  with 
profit  on  account  of  the  overlapping  of  the  broods,  hut  they  should 
he  made  as  near  the  maximum  of  egg-hatching  as  possible.  In  fact, 
late  in  the  season,  when  the  maximum  is  poorly  defined,  a  spray  is 
more  or  less  effective  at  any  time.  Last  year  (1900)  the  dates,  accord- 
ing to  hand  records,  for  most  effective  spraying  were  June  10-15,  July 
•Jl.  and  September  5.  No  inflexible  rule  can  be  given  for  these  dates. 
as  each  grower  has  different  conditions  to  meet  and  seasons  vary. 
Each  grower  must  determine  these  dates  for  himself.  The  greater 
number  of  the  growers  simply  space  off  the  season  and  spray  at 
empirical  times,  without  regard  to  the  stage  of  the  insect,  and  obtain,  as 
a  consequence,  poor  results. 

It  has  been  clearly  demonstrated  that  these  few  sprayings  alone  are 
not  always  sufficient  to  control  the  insect.  If  the  sprayings  wen  made 
every  week,  tin4  insect  could  be  controlled,  but  this  is  too  expensive. 
The  spray  is  effective  only  for  a  short  time,  and  must  be  supplemented 
by  something  to  take  the  insects  which  enter  the  fruit  between  the 
sprayings.  Banding  has  been  found  to  be  the  most  efficient  in  this 
connection. 

Manx  people  object  to  the  use  of  arsenites  for  later  sprayings  on 
account  of  the  liability  of  poisoning  those  who  eat  the  fruit.  I 
believe  this  objection  is  not  well  taken,  since  one  would  have  to  eat  an 
enormous  quantity  of  apples  to  be  affected.  If  a  large  amount  of 
poison  remained  in  the  hollow  around  the  stem  of  an  apple,  there 
might  be  some  danger.  I  have  eaten  many  apples  upon  which  the 
-play  -till  remained  and  experienced  no  evil  effects. 

During  the  growing  period  of  the  larva-  the  infested   apple   may  be 


61 

picked  from  the  trees  and  either  destroyed  or  fed  to  stock,  flow- 
ever,  this  method  is  so  expensive  in  a  large  orchard  that  it  is  out  of 
the  question.  If  the  people  in  the  towns  who  have  apple  trees  more 
for  shade  rather  than  for  the  fruit  would  destroy  their  apples,  they 
would  aid  materially  in  reducing  the  number  of  the  pest,  and  would 
also  eradicate  a  constant  source  of  infection. 

In  the  •"windfalls"  there  is  another  chance  to  attack  this  insect. 
In  many  orchards  the  fallen  apples  literally  cover  the  ground.  Care- 
ful experiments  have  shown  that  about  50  per  cent  of  these  fallen 
apples  contain  larva1.  Many  methods  may  be  used  in  the  destruction 
of  the  windfalls.  The  best  and  easiest  applied  is  to  allow  hogs  or 
sheep  to  run  in  an  orchard.  These  animals  soon  become  very  efficient 
and  keep  the  ground  well  cleared.  In  doing  this,  the  grower  not  only 
gets  rid  of  the  apples,  but  gets  his  stock  fed  upon  food  that  would 
otherwise  be  wasted.  Many  growers  collect  the  windfalls  at  stated 
intervals  and  make  cider  from  them.  At  best,  destruction  of  the  wind- 
falls is  only  partially  effective,  but  is  a  useful  ally  to  other  methods. 

"When  the  larvae  are  full  grown,  and  after  leaving  the  apples  are 
seeking  places  to  spin  their  cocoons,  another  point  of  attack  is  opened. 

Banding  is  simply  providing  a  suitable  place  for  the  insect  larva  to 
spin  its  cocoon.  Temporary  bands  of  hay  or  paper,  which  are  after- 
wards burned  with  the  larvae,  may  be  used.  Many  kinds  of  perma- 
nent bands,  which  are  not  destroyed,  have  been  devised,  but  a  piece 
of  cloth  from  -I  to  8  inches  wide,  folded  lengthwise  once,  and  placed 
around  the  trees  is  the  most  efficient  and  economical.  These  bands 
can  be  made  of  any  thick  dark-colored  cloth,  such  as  pieces  of  old 
clothing  or  burlap.  Professor  Aldrich  recommends  brown  canton 
flannel.  I  have  seen  many  bands  that  were  but  strips  of  white  mus- 
lin, which  did  not  otter  an  attractive  place  for  the  insect,  and  thus  the 
purpose  for  which  they  were  put  on  was  defeated. 

It  is  highly  essential  that  before  a  band  is  put  on  a  tree  all  places 
where  the  larvae  could  spin  up  be  removed.  The  rough  bark  should 
be  removed  from  the  tree,  and  all  holes  should  be  filled  with  either 
mud  or  mortar.  I  have  obtained  twenty  larvae  from  a  hole  in  a  tree. 
If  a  large  cavity  is  present  in  the  tree  trunk,  bands  should  be  placed 
above  and  below. 

The  bands  should  be  placed  around  the  trunk  of  the  tree  from  about 
H  feet  above  the  ground.  If  the  tree  is  large  it  is  best  to  put  a  band 
on  each  of  the  branches.  Two  bands  on  a  tree  trunk  are  better  than 
one,  but  if  the  tree  is  well  scraped  and  the  holes  filled  I  think  one 
wide  band  is  sufficient.  A  convenient  and  time-saving  device  for  fas- 
tening the  bands  on,  is  to  drive  a  small  nail  into  the  trunk  and  cut  off 
the  head  diagonally  so  as  to  leave  a  sharp  point.  This  nail  is  allowed 
to  remain  in  the  tree  and  the  ends  of  the  band  are  pushed  over  it. 

Apparently  banding  is  more  efficient  in  Idaho  than  in  any  other 


62 

State  where  experiments  have  been  made.  The  number  of  larvae 
caught  is  sometimes  irery  large*  Professor  Aldrich  records  that  the 
highest  Dumber  he  found  on  one  tree  in  a  week  was  L10.  Various  per- 
rons have  found  from  50  to  L90  <>n  neglected  trees.  I  once  found  170 
under  a  neglected  band  and  a  cloth  in  the  crotch  of  a  large  tree.  In 
L898  Mi-.  A\  res  obtained  from  ♦'»  to  L5  worms  per  tree  throughout  the 
season.  In  the  maximum  in  September  I  have  obtained  on  large  t  rees 
as  many  a-  80  to  .".o  daily  for  a  few  day-,  in  a  neglected  orchard.  Pro- 
fessor Aldrich  records  that  in  his  banding  experiments  he  obtained  215 
worms  per  tree  for  the  season  of  L899. 

The  worms  which  have  been  collected  under  bands  should  be  killed 
every  seven  day-.  Six  days  is  recommended  by  some.  I  think  six 
days  too  short  as  but  few  moths  emerge  before  seven  or  eight  days. 
However,  the  person  who  is  killing  the  larvae  can  easily  tell  whether 
the  time  i>  too  long  or  too  short.  If  old  pupal  skins  are  found  the 
time  is  too  long,  and  if  no  larva'  have  changed  to  pupa1  the  time  is  too 
short. 

Many  ways  of  killing  the  larva1  have  been  used,  such  as  burning 
temporary  bands,  plunging  the  permanent  bands  in  hot  water,  or  run- 
ning them  through  a  clothes  wringer.  I  rind  that  the  majority  of 
fruit  growers  in  Idaho  simply  crush  the  worms,  or  cut  them  with  a 
knife.  lion.  Kdgar  Wilson  suggested  to  me  that,  as  the  larva1  used 
parts  of  the  band  and  bark  with  which  to  build  its  cocoon  poisoning 
the  band  might  be  an  easy  way  of  getting  rid  of  many.  I  tried  soak- 
ing the  cloth  bands  in  strong  solution  of  paris  green,  but  the  results 
do  not  warrant  any  definite  statement.  I  believe  that  this  may  kill 
some  of  the  last  spinning  up,  but  doubt  its  efficiency  of  the  earliest 
broods.  However,  it  is  worthy  of  further  investigation.  In  want  of 
better  know  ledge  many  people  apply  bands  and  do  not  kili  the  worms 
that  have  collected.  In  this  way  the  insect  is  positively  aided.  Pro- 
r  Gillette  records  a  fact  that  must  be  noted.  He  finds  that  in  the 
spring  the  larvae  Leave  their  old  cocoons  and  migrate  to  other  places 
and  spin  new  ones.  '  This,  however,  is  not  always  the  case,  but  it 
should  be  guarded  against.  Hands  should  In1  applied  about  two  weeks 
after  the  blossoms  have  fallen  and  be  kept  on  for  a  week  or  so  after 
all  the  fruit  has  been  picked  in  the  orchard. 

Handing  should  always  be  practiced  in  connection  with  spraying, 
and  by  this  combination  the  best  results  are  obtained. 

By  spraying  with  Paris  green  and  London  purple  and  by  banding. 
Mr.  Tiner.  of  Boise,  saved  about  80  per  cent  of  his  apples.  This 
orchard  is  in  the  city  of  Hoist1  and  has  neglected  orchards  all  around  it. 

Hon.  Kdgar  Wilson  used  arsenites  and  banding.  In  the  part  of  the 
orchard  not  infested  by  tin1  moths  from  the  apple  house  the  loss  is 
estimated  from  5  to  10 per  cent     In  Mr.  Fremont  Wood's  orchard  the 

results  were  about  the  same. 


63 

Dr.  Ustick,  of  Boise,  used  lime  arsenite  and  banding.  I  estimated 
his  loss  to  be  about  10  per  cent.  I  visited  these  last  three  orchards 
September  l'4.  and  searching  diligently  under  the  bands  for  larvae, 
found  but  3  under  30  or  40  bands.  Mr.  ('.  Hinze.  of  Payette, 
used  Paris  green  with  either  kerosene  or  coal  tar.  He  writes  me  that 
his  total  Loss  from  all  causes  amounted  to  only  0.05  per  cent. 

For  contrast  it  might  be  mentioned  that  in  Mr.  Tiner's  orchard  I 
found  only  8  larva?  under  bands  at  Is  trees,  while  in  a  neglected 
orchard  on  the  same  date  (September  '21)  I  found  94  larvae  on  10  trees. 

In  all  these  cases  cited  the  orchards  were  sprayed  from  four  to  six 
times. 

The  pupae  may  be  killed  with  the  larvae  under  the  bands  by  crush- 
ing. They  are  so  well  protected  that  this  is  the  only  practicable  way 
to  reach  them. 

I  have  previously  stated  how  the  adults  in  a  storehouse  may  be 
killed.  A  few  fruit  growers  have  told  me  that  they  caught  numerous 
adult  codling  moths  by  trap  lanterns.  All  accurate  work  upon  this 
point  has  shown  that  the  moth  is  not  attracted  to  light,  the  noctuids 
and  sphingids  caught  being  mistaken  for  codling  moths. 

One  grower  says  he  catches  many  of  the  moths  in  buckets  in  which 
there  is  some  cider  or  vinegar.  This  fruit  grower  is  a  man  well 
informed  upon  the  subject  and  I  tried  to  experiment  with  his  remedy, 
but  was  stopped  by  cold  weather  and  sickness. 

SUMMARY    AND   CONCLUSION ^. 

1.  The  codling  moth  is  mure  injurious  in  Idaho  than  in  the  East,  on  account  of 
the  number  and  the  overlapping  of  broods. 

2.  There  are  three  broods  and  probably  a  part  of  a  fourth,  which  overlap. 

3.  The  moth  can  not  be  controlled  by  natural  means. 

4.  It  has  been  allowed  to  get  a  firm  foothold  in  the  State. 

5.  By  several  sprayings  with  arsenites  and  by  banding  the  injury  may  be  reduced 
to  from  5  to  20  per  cent,  depending  upon  locality. 

6.  I  firmly  believe  that  if  the  recommendations  given  here  be  followed  by  all  fruit 
growers  in  a  locality  for  one  or  two  years  that  the  moth  would  cease  to  lie  a  serious 
pest  in  that  locality. 

I  recommend  that  this  work  be  carried  on  in  Idaho  and  possibly  Oregon  and 
Washington  another  year,  as  I  l>elieve  this  last  summer?  work  has  simply  outlined 
the  problem  and  discovered  the  points  to  be  worked  upon. 

INSECTS  AND  THE  WEATHER  DURING  THE  SEASON  OF  1900. 

By  F.  H.  Chittexdex. 

Investigations  begun  during  the  season  of  1899  upon  the  effects  of 
atmospheric  and  other  conditions,  in  causing  an  increase  or  decrease 
of  injurious  insects  during  that  year,  were  continued  during  the  sea- 
son of  1900  with  some  interesting  results. 

The  studies  of  this  subject  that  have  been  made  have  not  been  as 
complete  as  could  be  desired,  but  asa  result  of  observations  conducted 


64 

during  the  two  seasons  the  writer  feels  justified  in  drawing  some  gen- 
eral conclusions.  Some  of  these  were  given  expression  in  an  earlier 
article  on  pages  5J   64  of  Bulletin  No.  22  of  the  present  series. 

It  may  be  remembered  that  the  writer  hazarded  an  opinion  as  to  the 
probabilities  that  certain  Northern  forms  would  continue  in  similar  or 
increasing  numbers  as  a  result  of  protracted  cool  winter  weather,  that 
would  tend  to  facilitate  perfect  hibernation,  while  certain  Southern 
species,  which  were  apparently  nearly  exterminated  in  and  near  the 
District  of  Columbia  as  a  consequence  of  the  cold  winter  of  L899-1900, 
would  continue  absent  from  this  neighborhood,  or  at  least  that  the 
crops  habitually  attacked  by  them  would  not  he  materially  affected 
during  the  season  of  L900.  This  prediction  lias  been  partially  veri- 
fied. Such  Northern  species  as  came  under  observation  as  a  result  of 
their  injurious  abundance  in  L899  continued  to  be  injurious,  as  it  was 
judged  they  would,  but  certain  of  the  Southern  forms  became  quite 
numerous.  True,  only  one  of  these  was  abundant  early  in  the  season, 
but  the  remainder,  although  extremely  rare  during  the  early  pari  of 
the  year,  became  sufficiently  numerous  to  attract  rather  general 
attention  late  in  the  season.  Prominent  among  these  were  the  cab- 
bage Pionea,  the  single  species  which  occurred  here  in  numbers  from 
early  in  the  year;  the  cabbage  looper,  which  was  universally  trouble- 
some to  late  cabbage  and  other  cruciferous  crops,  and  the  boll  worm, 
also  destructive  to  late  crops,  such  as  corn  and  tomatoes. 

As  to  the  cause  of  the  early  reappearance  of  the  first-mentioned  post 
after  such  extreme  scarcity,  the  only  conclusion  that  can  be  reached 
is  that  this  was  due  mainly,  if  not  entirely,  to  the  flight  of  the  parent 
moths  from  the  South  either  late  in  the  season  of  1899  or  early  in  1900, 
or  at  both  times.  It  is  to  be  regretted,  however,  that  the  mature 
insects  were  not  detected  at  lights  or  in  the  field  either  in  autumn  or 
spring.  The  cabbage  looper  and  boll  worm  owe  their  increase  proba- 
bly to  the  same  cause  as  the  Pionea. 

It  is  now  a  matter  of  almost  annual  occurrence— and  the  season  of 
L900  was  no  exception — for  the  cotton  worm,  Aletia  argillacea,  to  fly 
from  the  cotton  fields  thousands  of  miles  north  of  their  natural  habi- 
tat, a  phenomenon  well  known  to  collectors,  who  'frequently  take  this 
insect  at  electric  lights  in  the  Northern  States,  and  even  in  Canada, 
although  their  larva1  have  not  been  detected  north  of  the  cotton  belt. 
This  is  only  one  of  many  species  which  have  the  same  habit,  and  the 
writer  believes  that  the  invasion  of  the  territory  about  the  District  of 
Columbia  and  northward  by  the  three  species  above  mentioned  has 
been  made  in  the  same  way.  the  moths  having  flown  northward,  at 
intervals  perhaps,  during  the  season  with  winds  which  favored  this 
flight,  from  localities  farther  south  not  affected  to  the  same  extent  by 
the  atmospheric  conditions  of  the4  winter  of  L898  (.,(.t. 

\  circumstance  which  Lends  color  to  the  above  expressed  hypothesis, 


65 

that  the  re-stocking  of  the  District  of  Columbia  and  its  vicinity  with 
the  apparently  exhausted  supply  of  Southern  forms  was  due  mainly  to 
nights  induced  by  favoring  winds,  consists  in  the  observed  fact  that 
there  was  not  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  numbers  of  Southern 
insects  of  other  orders,  such  as  beetles  and  bugs,  insects  of  feeble 
powers  of  flight  as  compared  to  moths.  The  harlequin  cabbage  bug 
is  an  example  of  the  less  active  fliers,  as  this  insect  was  onhT  slightly 
more  abundant  than  in  the  previous  year,  until  very  late  in  the  season, 
when  injury  occurred  in  some  few  localities. 

ATMOSPHERIC    CONDITIONS    DURING    THE   WINTER   OF   1899   AND   1900 

AND    SUBSEQUENTLY. 

The  condition  of  the  weather  at  different  periods  of  the  year  was 
noted  whenever  it  was  thought  that  these  conditions  might  affect 
insect  life.  Some  of  the  more  important  phenomena  should  be  men- 
tioned as  a  preliminary  to  remarks  that  will  be  made  upon  the  effects 
of  these  conditions  in  limiting  the  increase  or  decrease  of  the  insects 
under  observation. 

No  change  worthy  of  mention  which  it  was  thought  might  affect 
insects  injuriously  was  noted  during  the  winter  months  of  1899. 

December  24  the  temperature  reached  a  maximum  of  53°  F.  dur- 
ing the  afternoon,  and  at  this  time  several  species  of  insects  were 
observed  at  work  in  addition  to  those  which  will  later  be  mentioned 
as  affecting  crucifers.  That  night,  however,  there  was  a  considerable 
fall  in  temperature,  a  little  more  than  10°  lower  than  the  average  for 
the  day  before,  the  minimum  reaching  24 :. 

During  the  next  eleven  days  there  was  a  considerable  drop  in  the 
temperature,  snow  falling  and  the  ground  remaining  frozen  until 
January  6  or  7.  At  one  time  during  this  period  the  temperature 
descended  to  9°.  On  the  5th  the  days  began  to  become  warmer,  but 
the  night  temperatures  continued  quite  low,  as  low  as  15°  on  the  date 
mentioned. 

February  24,  after  a  protracted  rainy  spell  of  several  days'  duration, 
the  storm  cleared,  the  sun  came  out,  and  the  thermometer  reached  a 
maximum  in  the  afternoon  of  58°  F.  Search  among  grasses  showed 
several  forms  of  insects  in  activity  near  the  surface,  and  it  is  proba- 
ble that  many  other  insects  were  brought  to  the  surface  from  their 
hibernating  quarters  by  these  conditions.  That  night  a  severe  wind- 
storm with  rain  and  snow  came  on,  the  temperature  dropping  by  6 
a.  m.  of  the  following  day  to  9°  F.,  remaining  below  the  freezing 
point  for  three  days,  but  again  attaining  a  maximum  on  March  1,  of 
59c,  similar  to  that  experienced  after  the  storm  just  specified.  For 
the  next  twelve  days  the  temperature  A\as  scarcely  dcIow  the  freezing 
point  for  more  than  a  degree  or  two  at  any  time  until  March  11,  when 

4670— No.  30—01 5 


66 

another  storm  Bet  in.  the  temperature  falling  toll0  F.  the  following 
day,  bui  warming  the  day  after  that. 

March  L5  a  storm  M't  in  about  6a.  in.  with  considerable  snowfall, 
most  of  which  remained  upon  the  grass  for  live  or  six  days,  and  in 
protected  localities  as  late  as  the  24th.  March  25  still  another  storm 
occurred,  during  the  eight,  with  a  lighter  fall  of  snow,  followed  by 
liner  and  clearer  weather  beginning  on  the  ^Tth. 

After  the  first  of  April  winter  weather  had  ceased  and  spring 
begun. 

It  would  l»e  a  matter  of  some  difficulty  to  define  the  exact  signili- 
cance  to  be  attached  to  the  terms  Northern  forms  and  Southern  forms 
used  in  the  present  and  also  the  earlier  article  of  the  writer  on  the  sub- 
ject under  discussion.  This  matter  can  be  best  explained,  perhaps,  by 
repeating  what  has  been  said  in  the  first  article  mentioned  (p.  53),  that 
the  District  of  Columbia  occupies  a  place,  zoologically  speaking,  in 
the  Carolinian  fauna]  area  nearly  midway  between  its  two  extremes  as 
at  present  defined:  and  the  Northern  forms  are  those  which  develop 
more  freely  north  of  this  line,  while  the  Southern  attain  their  greatest 
increase  south  of  this  line.  To  be  more  explicit,  however,  it  should 
l>e  -aid  that  the  injurious  species  which  will  be  particularly  mentioned 
as  Southern  are  believed  to  be  truly  Austro-riparian,  while  the  North- 
ern species  belong  rightfully  to  the  Alleghanian  area  of  the  Transition 
zone  and  the  most  northern  portions  of  the  Carolinian  or  upper  Austral 
life  zone.  At  least  two  species  which  it  was  found  impossible  to  assign 
to  either  the  Northern  or  Southern  group,  the  writer  believes,  as  a 
result  of  his  study  during  the  past  season,  have  now  been  correct^ 
placed.  They  are  the  fall  army  worm,  which  must  be  considered  a 
Southern  form,  although  it  finds  its  way  quite  far  northward,  and  the 
destructive  green  pea  louse,  which  rightfully  belongs  in  the  Northern 
group. 

OCCURRENCE   OF   SOUTHERN   FORMS   OF   INJURIOUS   SPECIES  IN   1900. 

Of  the  fifteen  injurious  forms  of  insects  mentioned  by  the  writer 
(loe.  cit..  pp.  55,  56)  as  unusually  scarce  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wash- 
ington in  L899  several  species  showed  marked  increase.  To  mention 
these  all  in  the  same  category,  the  list  includes  four  species  which  were 
not  -ecu  at  all  the  previous  year.  These  are  the  pickle  worm,  Mar- 
garonia  nitidalis^  and  the  melon  caterpillar.  M.  foyalmata,  each  of 
which  was  abundant  in  one  locality  only:  the  cabbage  pionea,  Pionea 
rimosalis,  which  was  everywhere  numerous  and  quite  destructive 
throughout  the  season,  and  the  garden  webworm,  Loxostegi  nmilalis, 
which  was  several  times  observed  during  September. 

The  Northern  leaf-footed  plant-bug.  Leptoglo88us opposttus,  was  gen- 
erally abundant  and  was  very  troublesome,  something  never  before 
noticed  in  this  \  icinit  \ . 


67 

The  horned  squash  bug,  Anaaa  armigera^  was  similarly  abundant, 
and  so  numerous  in  individuals  on  many  plants  examined  that  they 
often  outnumbered  the  common  squash  hug.  A.  tristis,  ten  to  one. 

The  corn-ear  worm.  Heliothis  armiger,  was  moderately  destructive 

early  in  the  season,  and  appeared  later  in  great  numbers,  and  in  some 
places  did  considerable  injury  to  late  corn,  tomatoes,  and  similar  crops 
which  it  is  known  to  affect. 

The  cabbage  looper.  Plusia  brassiccB,  returned  to  this  vicinity,  and 
although  rare  early  in  the  season,  became  quite  troublesome  to  late 
cabbage.  It  seems  probable  that  it  is  held  in  check,  at  least  partially, 
in  ordinary  seasons  by  parasite-  and  other  natural  agencies  than 
weather. 

It  was  not  expected  that  the  harlequin  cabbage  bug.  Murgantia  his- 
trionica,  would  increase  to  any  observable  extent,  and  this  was  borne 
out  by  the  season's  observations,  the  species  a-  a  whole  hardly  ranking 
as  an  injurious  one  to  crucifers  other  than  horse-radish  and  very  late 
cabbage.  To  horse-radish  it  was  troublesome  chiefly  owing  to  the  fact 
that  drought  also  affected  this  plant,  the  crops  suffering  from  the  com- 
bined effects  of  the  two  factors. 

One  genius  of  Noctuidae  classed  with  the  cutworms  and  of  omniv- 
orous tendencies.  Prodenia.  was  noticeably  rare  in  189®,  but  the  fact 
was  not  mentioned  in  the  writer's  consideration  of  the  Southern  forms 
affected  by  the  severely  cold  weather  of  the  preceding  winter.  Two 
specie-  were  very  abundant  during  1897  and  1898,  the  moth-  being 
commonly  found  at  lights,  but  in  1899  they  were  extremely  rare.  In 
1900,  however,  one  form.  Prodenia  ornithogalli  {lineateUa)  was  fre- 
quently observed  in  the  larval  state  in  the  held  and  more  abundant 
on  tomatoes  than  other  crops,  while  the  moths  were  not  rare  at  lights. 
The  other  species.  P.  commdincB,  could  not  be  found. 

The  Southern  cabbage  butterfly,  Pieris protodice,  which  was  scarcely 
seen  at  all.  except  in  the  mature  condition  in  a  few  individuals  during 
.  was  found  to  have  accumulated  in  great  numbers  at  St.  Elmo, 
Va.,  in  the  late  fall.  Mr.  Pratt,  who  reported  the  occurrence,  staged 
that  next  after  the  cabbage  looper  this  was  the  most  abundant  enemy 
of  crucifers  in  this  region,  occurring  in  about  equal  numbers  on  kale 
and  turnips  from  the  latter  days  of  September  throughout  the  month 
of  October. 

The  Southern  tobacco  worm.  Protoparce  Carolina^  also  increased  in 
great  numbers,  particularly  during  the  latter  part  of  the  season,  and 
was  destructive  to  late  growing  tomato  plants.  The  Northern  tobacco 
worm,  or  tomato  worm.  1\  cdeus,  it  should  be  remarked,  was  rare  as 
in  the  previous  year.  The  parasite-  of  both  of  these,  a-  usual,  were 
very  abundant. 

The  fall  army  worm.  Laphygma  frugiperda,  although  it  extends  its 
distribution  quite  far  north  at  time-  must  be  included  in  the  category 


68 

of  Southern  species,  as  it  is  of  comparatively  recent  Southern  origin 
and  appears  to  die  <>ut  from  year  to  year  in  its  more  northern  range. 
It  mis  destructive  in  a  single  locality,  the  District  of  Columbia,  late  in 
the  season,  but  was  not  reported  by  any  of  our  numerous  correspond- 
ents in  spite  of  our  inquiry. 

Of  other  Southern  forms  the  green  June  hectic.  Allorhina  nitida; 
imbricated-snoul  beetle,  Epiccerys  imbricatus;  squash-vine  borer, 
Melittia  satyriniformis,  and  American  locust,  Schistocerca  ameritcana, 
showed  a  perceptible  increase  in  numbers,  while  the  tobacco  flea-beetle, 
Epitrix  pa/rwla  was  not  so  abundant.  The  larger  corn  stalk-borer, 
DiatrcBa  saccharcdis,  was  not  seen  at  all. 

The  opportunity  is  taken  to  observe  that  the  eggplant  flea-beetle, 
Epitrix  fuscula,  a  Southern  form,  was  extremely  abundant  during  the 
year,  hut  flea-beetles,  as  the  writer  has  had  occasion  to  observe  in  his 
earlier  article,  seem  to  be  little  affected  by  changes  in  weather. 

In  earlier  mention  of  the  weather  in  relation  to  the  destructive  green 
pea  louse,  X<et<trophora  destructor,  and  its  abundance  during  1899,  the 
writer  was  unable  to  specify  as  to  whether  it  belonged  to  the  northern 
or  southern  group  of  injurious  insects.  It  wrould  now  seem  that  it  is 
a  northern  species,  as  it  is  recorded  from  several  Transition  localities, 
notably  in  Wisconsin  and  in  Nova  Scotia  and  other  portions  of  Canada, 
where  it  is  destructive,  and,  so  far  as  reports  go,  it  has  not  found  its 
way  farther  south  than  a  northern  strip  of  the  lower  austral  in  south- 
eastern Virginia,  near  the  seacoast,  and  a  single  known  locality  in  North 
Carolina.  It  therefore  falls  naturally  into  the  list  of  species  that  have 
multiplied  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  District  of  Columbia  as  a  result 
of  the  cold  winters  experienced  during  two  years.  Nothing  else  can 
explain  its  great  abundance,  as  none  of  its  natural  enemies,  if  we  except 
the  fungous  disease  to  which  it  is  subject  and  which  has  not  yet  been 
made  the  subject  of  special  stud}T  by  anyone,  either  in  its  relation  to 
the  multiplication  of  this  insect  or  otherwise,  have  had  any  appreci- 
able effect  in  reducing  the  numbers  of  this  pest. 

Taking  into  consideration  the  occurrence  of  this  species  throughout 
the  country,  it  would  appear  that  it  was  at  least  as  numerous  in  L900 
as  in  L899,  as  during  the  latter  season  it  was  destructive  over  the  same 
and  additional  area,  although  not  in  all  cases  to  the  same  extent  as  in 
L899.     Its  increase  westward  was  noticeable. 

ABUNDANT  NORTHERN  FORMS  IN  1900. 

Of  the  northern  forms  of  insects  which  were  present  in  great  num- 
bers in  L899  nearly  all  of  the  thirteen  species  mentioned  (loc.  cit.,  pp. 

56,  ."'7)  occurred  in  the  same  numbers  during  L900.      There  were  severe 

outbreaks  of  the  oblique-banded  leaf-roller,  ('<i<-<i<-i<i  rosaceana^  not 
only  about  Washington,  but  in  various  other  portions  of  the  country 


69 

and  a>  far  south  as  Norfolk,  Va.,  and  the  strawberry  loaf-roller.  Pho- 
OBopterh  comptana,  was  extremely  abundant  here,  in  Maryland,  and  else- 
where. Three  of  the  species  previously  mentioned,  however — the 
rhubarb  curculio,  zebra  caterpillar,  and  plum  moth — were  not  con- 
spicuous by  their  number-. 

The  raspberry  sawfly,  Monophadnus  rubi^  was  more  abundant  than 
in  the  previous  year. 

The  asparagus  beetles.  Orioceris  asparagi  &nd  0.  1%-punctata,  were 
reported  by  Professor  Johnson  to  have  occasioned  some  injury  in 
Maryland  (Bui.  26,  p.  81),  but  the  hot  spell  of  July  and  August  prac- 
tically put  a  stop  to  injury,  as  neither  beetles  nor  larva?  of  either 
species  were  to  be  found  in  late  August  and  early  September,  when  the 
plants  in  several  localities  were  examined. 

OX   SPECIES    COMMON    TO    XORTH    AXD   SOUTH. 

It  may  be  well  to  state  briefly  that  of  the  seven  species  previously 
noticed  (loc.  cit.  pp.  57,58)  as  having  been  particularly  destructive 
about  Washington  in  1899,  and  which  do  not  fall  into  either  category 
of  north  or  south  as  to  origin,  all  were  destructive  during  1900, 
although  in  some  instances  in  restricted  localities. 

The  bean  leaf-beetle.  Cerotama  trifurcata^  did  more  harm  in  the  East 
than  was  ever  before  known.  The  same  is  true  of  the  spinach  flea- 
beetle.  Disonycha  xmUhomeUmia. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  injurious  occurrences  of  the  year 
was  that  of  the  variegated  cutworm  Peridroma  saucia,  which  was 
quite  destructive  over  a  wide  extent  of  country,  including  the  Pacific 
coast,  where  it  was  particularly  troublesome  in  the  State  of  Washing- 
ton. The  infested  territory  comprised  portions  of  Texas.  Missouri, 
Kansas.  Maryland,  West  Virginia.  Illinois.  Washington.  Oregon,  and 
northern  California,  and  the  crops  infested  included  nearly  everything 
that  grows  in  gardens,  as  well  as  the  foliage  and  fruit  of  various 
orchard  trees.  According  to  testimony  of  some  of  our  correspondent-, 
this  insect  assumed  the  habit  of  traveling  in  armies,  but  was  not 
noticed  on  the  march  in  the  daytime. 

OX    NATURAL     ENEMIES     AND     THEIR     IXFLUEXCE     UPON     IXSECT   REPRO- 

DUCTIOX. 

The  question  of  the  effects  of  the  abundance  of  natural  enemies 
upon  injurious  insects  is  closely  related  to  the  effects  of  weather  upon 
them,  but  the  subject  is  much  involved,  and  we  know  so  little  about  it 
that  it  is  difficult  to  generalize  with  much  certainty.  This  much  is 
certain,  however,  that  conditions  which  would  affect  injuriously  a 
parasite  may  not  necessarily  affect  a  host:  predaceous  insects  are  not 
necessarily  affected  by  conditions  which  would  be  injurious  to  either 


70 

parasitic  or  to  injurious  species,  while  fungous  and  bacterial  diseases 
are  probably  affected  by  still  different  conditions. 

Predaceous  Insects,  as  a  rule,  arc  more  resistant  to  extremes  of  tem- 
perature, dryness,  or  humidity  than  all  of  the  other  insects  and  organ- 
isms  which  produce  diseased  conditions  of  insects. 

Parasitic  insects  were  more  abundant  during  the  season  of  1900  than 
during  L899,  hut  this  does  not  apply  to  all  of  the  common  species. 
For  example,  our  two  common  parasites  of  the  imported  cabbage  but- 
terfly, though  numerous  early  in  the  season,  were  extremely  rare  toward 

the  close  of   the  year. 

Some  experiments  were  made  to  test  the  prevalence  of  parasitic 
insects  and  fungi  and  their  effects  upon  the  reproduction  of  some 
common  pests. 

The  imported  cabbage  butterfly,  Pierts  rapce,  was  one  of  the  species 
with  which  experiments  were  made.  Larva'  were  obtained  from  all 
available  sources  from  the  District  of  Columbia,  Virginia,  and  Mary- 
land, and  kept  under  the  best  possible  conditions  during  September, 
L900,  with  the  result  that  not  a  single  parasite  was  reared,  nor  did  this 
species  appear  to  be  affected  by  any  disease  at  this  time.  Practically 
all  of  the  larvse  used  in  experiments  which  were  approaching  maturity 
when  placed  in  our  rearing  jars  produced  pupae  and  eventually  but- 
terflies. 

While  on  the  subject  of  the  parasites  and  other  natural  enemies  of 
this  cabbage  pest  it  should  be  stated  that  Pterofnahis  puparum  and 
Apanteles  glmn'eratus  made  their  appearance  with  the  development  of 
the  first  generation  of  butterflies,  the  Chalcidid  appearing  at  the  same 
time  and  the  Braconid  only  a  few  days  later.  The  wheel  bug,  Prioni- 
dus  cristatus,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  recorded  as  an  enemy  of 
this  cabbage  worm.  It  was  many  times  observed  during  the  season  of 
L900  devouring  the  ''worms.*'  One  was  observed  June  23  which  had 
killed  a  larva  twice  its  size. 

Specimens  of  diseased  larvae  referred  to  the  Division  of  Vegetable 
Physiology  and  Pathology  in  the  fall  of  1899  were  found  to  be  affected 
by  a  fungus  of  the  genus  Sporotrichum,  identified  by  Mrs.  Flora  W. 
Patterson  as  probably  -s'.  globuiiferum  Speg. 

The  cabbage  looper,  Plusia  hrassicm.—  Diseased  and  dead  larva4  of 
this  species  taken  in  the  fall  of  L899  and  referred  to  Mrs.  Flora  W. 
Patterson,  Assistant  Pathologist,  were  identified  as  suffering  from  a 
fungus  of  the  genus  Kntomophthora.  doubtfully  referred  to  sphcBTO- 
sperma  Fres.,  a  species  which  occurs  upon  many  insects  of  different 
orders. 

During  September,  L900,  it  was  estimated  that  a  little  less  than  20 
pel-  cent  of  the  Ian  a'  of  this  >pecies  present  in  the  fields  about  the 
District  of  Columbia  had   yielded  to  the  effects  of  disease  usually  just 

before  attaining  maturity.     This  disease  was  by  no  means  general,  and 


71 

was  found  to  be  more  prevalent  id  Maryland  near  the  District  line 
than  on  the  grounds  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  In  the  latter 
place  there  was  practically  no  infection  worth  mentioning. 

A  very  large  proportion  of  cabbage  loopers  was  affected  by  the 
minute  parasite  Copidosoma  truncatella^  perhaps  15  per  cent  during 
September,  but  none  in  earlier  and  less  in  later  months. 

Observing  that  the  larvae  were  most  extensively  affected  by  the 
Copidosoma  parasite  in  a  region  badly  infected  with  rot,  a  number 
of  healthy  larvae  were  placed  on  potted  cabbage  affected  with  both 
the  bacterial  and  brown  rots,  while  others  were  kept  as  a  check  lot 
on  fresh  cabbage,  this  experiment  being  made  to  ascertain  if  the  rots 
were  in  any  way  responsible  for  the  diseased  condition  of  larvae. 
Somewhat  to  the  writer's  surprise  it  could  not  be  seen  that  the 
larva?  placed  with  the  diseased  plants  were  affected  in  any  manner 
more  than  those  kept  under  the  same  conditions  with  perfectly  healthy 
plants. 

The  meldrr  plant-louse.  Aphis  go8%yjpii  Glow,  affords  a  striking 
example  of  the  combined  effects  of  weather  and  natural  enemies  in  the 
control  of  an  insect.  Of  all  common  plant-lice  this  species  appears  to 
be  most  susceptible  to  climatic  variations.  During  moist  or  humid 
weather,  particularly  in  the  early  portion  of  the  summer,  this  species 
is  capable  of  propagating  in  the  greatest  numbers,  but  during  pro- 
tracted heated  and  dry  spells,  such  as  happened  in  the  season  of  1900, 
its  natural  enemies,  which  are  legion,  are  able  to  keep  it  almost  com- 
pletely under  control.  During  the  year  it  was  not  reported  at  this 
office  as  doing  any  damage  save  in  one  locality  in  Nebraska,  a  State  in 
which  it  does  as  much  if  not  more  damage  than  any  other  in  our 
country.  In  the  year  1899  this  species  was  very  destructive  in  the 
States  of  Florida,  Texas.  Maryland.  Virginia.  Pennsylvania  and 
Georgia,  and  District  of  Columbia,  while  the  previous  year  it  did  dam- 
age over  much  the  same  territorv.  as  well  as  in  Kansas  and  Arkansas, 
injury  being  particularly  pronounced  in  Texas. 

SOME    GENERALIZATIONS. 

As  a  result  of  study  of  the  subject  of  the  effects  of  weather  upon 
different  species  of  injurious  insects  which  occur  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  District  of  Columbia  during  the  past  year  in  connection  with 
observations  that  were  made  the  previous  year  the  writer  has  deduced 
certain  conclusions.  One  of  these,  not  expressed  in  the  earlier  article 
on  this  subject,  is  that  there  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  introduced 
forms  to  develop  one  or  more  generations  in  their  adopted  habitat 
than  native  northern  species  produce,  a  habit  which  conduces  very 
largely  to  their  destruction,  resulting  in  a  corresponding  decrease  in 
their  numbers. 


72 

TENDENCY    OF    INTRODUCED    FORMS    TO    PRODUCE    EXTRA    GENERATIONS 
IN    ADOPTED    NORTHERN    HABITATS. 

European  introductions  in  the  United  States  frequently  produce  one 
or  more  generations  in  excess  of  the  number  thai  has  been  observed 

and  recorded  in  the  northern  countries  of  Europe  where  observations 
have  been  made,  and  even  attempt  generations  late  in  the  year,  which 
are  often  apt  to  perish  by  being  overtaken  by  frosts  before  trans- 
formation can  be  accomplished  or  suitable  places  sought  out  for 
hibernation. 

Southern  forms  that  miniate  northward  in  time  appear  to  become 
perfectly  at  home  in  northern  localities;  in  fact,  thoroughly  acclima- 
ted, but  this  is  apparent  only,  as  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that 
many  species  attempt  tin4  production  of  one  or  more  generations  more 
than  similar  northern  species  have;  or,  in  other  words,  essay  the 
normal  generations  which  they  had  in  the  south,  which  are  apt  to  be 
cut  short  by  intervening  cold  weather  before  their  completion. 

Examples  of  both  forms  are  apparently  more  frequent  in  leaf- 
feeding  mandibulates,  particularly  the  larvae  of  Heterocera  or  moths 
and  phytophagous  Coleoptera,  especially  Chrysomelida3  or  leaf-bettles. 
Several  injurious  forms  of  plant-lice  are  in  the  same  category,  although 
these  have  not  been  given  special  study.  Many  genera  are  known  to 
feed  in  cold  weather  long  after  frosts,  and  may  even  be  taken  on  their 
host  plants  under  the  snow. 

An  excellent  illustration  of  polygneutism,  or  the  production  of  sev- 
eral generations  annually  in  a  species  recorded  as  normally  monogneutic 
in  its  native  home,  is  to  be  found  in  the  imported  elm  leaf-beetle, 
Gal&rucella  luteola.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  species  is 
monogneutic  in  Europe,  but  observations  conducted  at  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J.,  and  Connecticut  cities  in  the  Upper  Austral  life  area 
have  shown  that  there  is  an  incomplete  second  generation.  In  the 
more  southern  portions  of  the  same  life  area  there  are  invariably  two 
generations  annually,  and  in  exceptional  seasons  a  third  generation 
is  attempted;  at  least,  beetles  of  the  second  generation  have  been 
observed  to  lay  eggs.1 

An  example  of  an  extra  generation  being  produced  by  a  southern 
species  is  found  in  the  squash-vine  borer.  Mdittia  satyriniformis, 
which  is  single-brooded  on  Long  Island  and  northward,  apparently 
single  and  partially  double-brooded  in  New  Jersey,  while  in  the  lati- 
tude of  the  District  of  Columbia  the  species  is  both  single- and  double- 
brooded,  as  shown  by  the  writer  in  recent  years  (Hub  No.  lit,  n.  s.  Div. 
Knt..  ]>.  ?>\)).  This  peculiarity  in  reproduction  is  evidently  a  survival 
of  the  time  when  this  species  lived  in  a  tropical  climate,  where  it  was 

1  Even  some  <>i  our  native  species  closely  allied  t<>  the  rim  Leaf-beetle,  e.  g.,  Gote- 
rucella  americana  Fab.,  have  been  observed  by  the  writer  to  lav  eggs  for  a  second 
generation  late  in  .Inly  (Proc,  Ent.  Soc.  Wash.,  Vol.  Ill,  j>.  275),  but  this  is,  with 
little  doubt,  exceptional. 


73 

possible  for  breeding-  to  be  more  nearly  continuous.  The  instinct  of 
this  and  other  insects  of  recent  southern  origin  is  still  to  remain  Late 
feeding  in  the  open,  provided  appropriate  plants  are  available  for  their 
subsistence,  or,  to  put  it  otherwise,  they  have  not  learned  to  seek 
shelter  at  the  same  time  as  native  or  acclimated  forms  do. 

Recent  observations  on  this  and  other  species  of  similar  habits  and 
origin  suggest  that  the  ancestors  of  those  individuals  which  produce 
only  a  single  generation  were  introduced  in  early  times  and  are  thor- 
oughly established  and  acclimated,  while  those  which  produce  a  second 
generation  are  the  offspring  of  ancestors  which  have  spread  from  the 
south  more  recently  and  have  not  yet  become  accustomed  to  the  differ- 
ences in  the  weather  in  the  North  and  in  the  South. 

The  development  of  two  generations  by  Melittia  and  other  southern 
introductions  in  the  District  of  Columbia  and  places  having  a  similar 
climate  is  a  matter  apparently  not  so  much  dependent  on  the  weather 
as  upon  the  inability  of  the  insects  to  find  the  appropriate  food  for 
their  larvae;  for  example,  were  cucurbits  to  be  planted  earlier  and 
later,  there  would  be  no  trouble  in  the  vine  borer  producing  two  well- 
marked  generations  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  vines  of  cucurbits  are 
readily  killed  by  frosts,  the  insect  being  able  to  survive  upon  stems 
which  are  not  of  the  freshest. 

Certain  species  recently  observed,  e.  g.,  Plntella  crudferarum,  the 
diamond-back  cabbage  moth,  there  are  the  best  of  reasons  for  believing 
are  able  to  produce  an  additional  generation  during  the  latter  days  of 
November  and  the  first  week  of  December,  as  many  larva?  captured  at 
this  time  were  full  grown  and  accompanied  by  numerous  pupae,  most 
of  the  individuals  captured  changing  to  pupae  before  the  end  of  the 
first  week  of  December,  in  which  condition  they  would  naturally  be 
less  exposed  to  frost  and  better  able  to  survive  the  rigors  of  winter. 
Still  another  generation,  however,  was  attempted,  as  one  moth  cap- 
tured deposited  its  eggs  at  this  time.  This  generation  was,  of  course, 
doomed  to  failure. 

The  effort  on  the  part  of  so  many  introduced  Old  World  species  of 
producing  extra  generations  would  naturally  lead  to  the  belief  that 
these  insects  came  originally  and  in  comparatively  recent  times  from 
southern  Europe  or  southern  Asia,  became  acclimated  farther  north  in 
Europe  in  the  same  manner  that  native  Southern  forms  become  estab- 
lished by  migration  to  our  Northern  States,  whence  they  were  intro- 
duced in  the  Upper  Austral  portions  of  the  United  States,  for  the  most 
part  about  our  principal  seaports,  Boston,  New  York,  and  in  some  cases 
Baltimore,  and  in  other  large  cities,  such  as  Philadelphia  and  perhaps 
Washington,  and  after  becoming  adapted,  more  or  less  imperfectly 
perhaps,  to  the  environment  of  those  cities,  have  made  their  wa}T'  still 
farther  south,  where  they  have  again  resumed  what  was  probably  their 
original  habit  of  producing  two,  three,  or  more  annual  generations. 


74 

RESIDENCE   OF   CERTAIN    SOUTHERN    FORMS    IN     LOCALITIES    FAR    NORTH 
OF   THEIR    NATURAL    LIMITS    is   TRANSIENT. 

In  the  Increase  of  the  areas  occupied  by  these  insects  they  obey  a 
natural  impulse  for  migration,  and  arc  evidently  largely  influenced  by 
the  wind,  and  this  is  particularly  the  case  with  moths.  There  can  be 
little  doubt,  also,  that  insects  introduced  into  the  North,  and  from  there 
southward,  are  again  brought  northward  by  winds  from  the  South:  in 
fact,  theie  is  little  stability  in  the  localities  occupied  by  many  species, 
winds,  frosts,  prolonged  heat  and  consequent  drought,  excessive  rains 
inducing  abnormal  moisture  of  the  insect's  food  plants,  diseases,  and 
natural  enemies  being  among  the  (dements  which  produce  changes  caus- 
ing fluctuation  in  numbers  in  this  or  that  locality,  a  decrease  here  this 
year  and  an  increase  there  another  year.1 

SPECIES  INTRODUCED  IN  THE  NORTH  FROM  THE  SOUTH  AND  FROM 
EUROPE  REMAIN  LATE  IN  THE  FIELD. 

Southern  or  Lower  Austral  species,  particularly  those  which  are 
injurious,  which  have  come  up  to  this  region  from  the  South  in  com- 
paratively recent  years,  are  rarely  found  early  in  the  season,  especially 
after  severe  winters,  but  increase  toward  the  end  of  the  season,  and 
often,  if  not  usually,  occur  in  their  larval  stages,  busily  feeding  through 
the  months  of  October  and  November,  even  after  frosts,  as  has  been 
noticed  for  several  years,  and  particularly  during  the  two  seasons  just 
passed.  The  same  is  true,  for  some  reason,  of  species  which  have 
widened  their  range  in  other  directions,  and  particularly  of  insects 
which  have  been  introduced  from  Europe. 

Most  of  the  introduced  plant-lice,  and  those  which  have  come  up 
from  the  South,  live  on  their  food  plants  after  frosts,  long  after  nearly 
all  other  insects  have  disappeared  in  the  field. 

It  is  true  that  many  native  plant-lice  also  remain  feeding  late  in  the 
season. 


1  The  writer  desires  here  to  call  attention  to  the  absurdity  of  recording  strong-flying 
species  of  insects,  and  especially  moths,  like  those  just  mentioned,  as  residents  of 
northern  localities  beyond  their  natural  limits,  where  there  is  no  proof  whatever  that 
the  species  could  ever  have  bred  there,  particularly  when  we  know  that  no  food  plant 
upon  which  the  larva  could  have  subsisted  grows  there.  If  such  species  are  included 
in  local  lists  at  all,  the  circumstances  attending  capture  should  he  added.  A  familiar 
example  of  an  insect  which  lives  normally  in  the  South  and  is  frequently  found  as 
far  northward  as  Canada  is  the  gigantic  Nbctuid,  Erebus  odora.  It  is  native  to  the 
West  Indies,  and  not  known  to  breed  in  the  United  States.  In  spite  of  recent  remarks 
that  have  been  made  that  would  appear  to  indicate  that  this  moth  might  breed  within 
the  territory  of  the  United  States  proper,  the  writer  can  not  believe  that  it  is  at  pres- 
ent established  here,  or  even  will  be  within  the  near  future,  as  only  isolated  specimens 
are  found  northward,  and  thesein  late  summer  or  autumn,  as  in  the  case  of  the  cot  ton- 
worm  moth,  which  it  has  been,  I  think,  definitely  proved  does  not  breed  in  the  North- 
ern State.-. 


75 

Of  southern  species  both  the  eotton  worm  and  the  boll  worm  moths 
are  to  be  found  very  Late  in  the  season,  and  the  writer  has  seen  the  cot- 
ton-worm  moths  in  November  in  great  numbers  at  Ithaca,  N.  Y..  at 
light,  after  most  other  insects  had  been  absent  from  lights,  at  least 
in  any  numbers,  for  weeks.  Immense  numbers  of  the  moths  were 
attracted  to  the  electric  lights  on  the  principal  streets  of  the  city.1 

Larvae  of  two  important  species,  the  imported  cabbage  butterfly. 
Pieris  rajMB  and  the  diamond-back  moth.  Plutetta  cruciferarum^  both 
of  comparatively  recent  introduction,  were  found  during  the  winter  of 
1^1900  in  the  last  week  of  November  freely  feeding  after  several 
frosts.  They  were  accompanied  by  the  harlequin  cabbage  bug,  Mur- 
gantia  htstriomca,  which  we  know  to  have  recently  spread  northward 
from  the  Southern  States,  and  by  the  cabbage  looper.  PLusia  brassicce, 
which  has  also  spread  from  the  south  northward,  though  not  in  very 
recent  times. 

SUMMARY    OF   CONCLUSIONS. 

The  result  of  recent  studies  may  be  summarized  briefly  as  follows: 

(1)  That  there  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  forms  introduced  in  the 
North  from  farther  South  to  produce  one  or  more  generations  in  excess 
of  the  number  developed  by  similar  forms  native  to  the  region  of  this 
adopted  habitat. 

rj)  That  as  a  result  these  forms  remain  later  in  the  held  than  do 
species  native  to  the  North. 

(3)  That,  largely  as  a  result  of  the  above  and  other  habits,  in  addi- 
tion to  greater  susceptibility  to  low  temperatures,  these  southern  intro- 
ductions are  apt  to  be  destroyed  every  year  in  large  numbers,  their 
residence  in  their  northern  homes  being,  therefore,  not  strictly  per- 
manent. Cold  snaps  following  warm  spells  during  the  winter  are.  ac- 
cording to  observation,  the  most  important  factors  in  their  destruction. 

ON  THE  HABITS  OF  ENTILIA  SINTJATA. 
By  L.  O.  Howard. 

This  interesting  little  leaf -hopper,  certain  of  the  habits  of  which 
have  been  described  by  Mrs.  M.  E.  Rice,  of  Coryville.  Pa.,  in  Volume 
V  of  Insect  Life  (pp.  243-245).  is  common  throughout  the  eastern 
United  States,  and  may  be  found  upon  many  different  plants,  such  as 
potato,  ragweed  (Ambrosia),  spikenard  (Aralia).  Onicus  altzssimus, 
Lactuca  spicata,  Rudbeckia  laciniata,  cotton,  sunflower,  and  other 
annual  and  herbaceous  forms.  Mrs.  Rice  studied  the  egg>.  which 
were  laid  upon  the  midrib  of  a  leaf  of  sunflower  and  began  to  hatch 

xThe  exact  date  was  not  noted,  but  it  is  much  colder  in  that  locality  than  on  the 
corresponding  date  in  Washington,  there  being  about  a  month's  difference  in  that 
climate  in  ordinary  seasons,  and  although  the  event  happened  many  years  ago.  it  is 
remembered  that  a  heavy  overcoat  worn  at  the  time  was  very  comfortable. 


76 


out  on  September  1.  Sunflower  Leaves  infested  by  the  larvae  die  and 
the  whole  plant  looks  as  if  scorched.  About  two  weeks  after  hatch- 
ing the  larvse  moll  tor  the  first  time.  During  their  entire  life,  Mis. 
Rice  noticed,  almosl  every  colony  was  guarded  by  one  or  more  ants. 
When  -lie  raised  the  leaf  to  examine  closer  the  ants  gave  battle  and 
l>it  her  finger.  When  she  removed  the  ants  the  little  leaf-hoppers, 
both  larvae  and  imagoes,  scattered  with  astonishing  celerity  all  over 
the  plant.  The  ants  returned  and  rounded  them  up  exactly  as  the 
collie  doo-  does  sheep,  placing  one  ant  on  guard  if  the  colony  were 
small  and  more  if  the  colony  were  large.  She  noticed  when  one  of 
the  little  leaf-hopper-  strayed  away  an  ant  went  after  it  and,  with 
infinite  patience,  drove  it  home  again.     She  noticed  further  that  when 


Fig.  Zi.—Entttia  einuaia,  Adult  nymph;  swelling  of  Btem  due  t"  eggs;  angle  at  which  eggs  are 

laid  (original). 

the  Larvae  were  ready  to  molt  and  the  skin  began  to  split  on  the  back 
the  ants  supervised  the  process,  seeming  to  peel  off  the  empty  larval 
skin.  When  one  considers  the  fact  that  the  leaf-hoppers  in  perfect 
condition  can  both  fly  and  jump,  the  control  which  the  ants  maintain 
over  them  is  remarkable.  The  writer  had  an  opportunity  of  studying 
this  interesting  little  insect  during  the  month  of  August  near  Tanners- 

ville.  N.  V..  also  upon  sunflower,  and  from  the  specimens  collected  at 
that  time  the  accompanying  illustrations  have  been  drawn. 

The  Swelling  of  the  midrib,  caused  by  the  insertion  of  the  eggs,  was 

very  pronounced,  as  shown  at  figure  27.  while  the  exact  angle  at  which 
the  eggs  are  inserted  is  also  shown  at  figure  2~i. 


77 

The  young-,  when  first  hatched,  were  almost  immediately  attended 
by  two  species  of  ants,  specimens  of  which  were  collected,  and  which 
are  determined  b\T  Mr.  Theodore  Pergande  as  t  fam/p<motu8 pictusJtord.. 
and  Formica  subsericea  Say.  It  was  noticed,  however,  that  both  species 
of  ants  were  not  found  upon  the  same  leaf.  Specimens  of  one  species 
would  guard  a  colony  upon  one  leaf,  while  on  the  next  leaf  on  the  same 
plant  a  colony  of  the  leaf -hoppers  might  be  guarded  by  several  speci- 
mens of  the  other  species  of  ant. 

When  so  guarded  the  leaf -hoppers  clustered  at  first  near  the  midrib 
and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  eggs  in  the  manner  shown  at  fig.  27.  The 
successive  stages  of  development  are  shown  at  figs.  28  and  27.  The 
second  and  third  larval  stages  are  very  characteristic,  and  not  until 
the  final  larval  stage  is  reached  does  the  young  show  any  resemblance 
to  the  adult  leaf -hopper. 

A  curious  and  interesting  observation  was  made  upon  the  first  egg 


Fig.  •2s.—Entilia  sinuata:  Successive  larval  stages— enlarged  (original). 

mass  seen,  and  which  was  verified  again  and  again,  and  that  is  that 
the  adult  female  seems  to  brood  over  her  eggs  until  they  are  hatched. 
She  assumes  a  position  upon  the  swollen  midrib  parallel  to  the  leaf 
surface,  instead  of  perpendicular  to  it,  and  waits  patiently  and  almost 
motionless  for  several  days — in  fact,  until  the  young  are  hatched.  The 
ants  do  not  bother  her  while  she  is  thus  brooding.  As  soon  as  the 
young  hatch  out  they  put  in  an  immediate  appearance,  and  all  of  the 
observations  made  by  Mrs.  Rice  mentioned  above  have  been  verified. 
Considerable  honeydew  is  secreted  by  the  larva?,  and  this  is  undoubted^ 
the  cause  of  the  care  taken  by  the  ants.  When  allowed  to  stray  the 
leaf -hoppers  will  run  around  to  the  upper  side  of  the  leaf,  but  are  soon 
driven  back  by  the  ants  and  kept  massed  into  clusters.  The  work  of 
the  insects  causes  the  ultimate  yellowing  and  dropping  of  the  leaves, 
in  which  case  the  leaf-hoppers  arc  carefully  removed  by  the  ants  and 
placed  upon  fresh  leaves.     The  Entilia  may  thus  be  considered  an 


I  o 

injurious  Bpecies  to  cultivated  sunflowers,  and  as  the  ants  encourage 
them,  take  good  care  of  them,  and  place  them  upon  fresh  leaves,  the 
ants  themselves  become  thus  indirect   enemies  to  the  plant. 

A  kerosene  emulsion  spray  is  of  course  a  perfectly  efficient  remedy. 

FUMIGATION  WITH  CARBON  BISULPHIDE. 

By  W.   E.  Hinds. 

r.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 

Division  of   ENTOMOLOGY, 
Washington,  I).  C,  July  15,  1001. 
Sik:   1  submit  herewith  a  report  upon  the  use  of  carbon  bisulphide  in  the  fumiga- 
tion  of  a  large  wholesale  and    retail    tobacco  establishment   in  Washington,  D.  C, 
together  with  some  details  of  caution  in  its  use  and  a  few  observations  concerning  the 
effects  of  this  insecticide  upon  the  user,  which  I  have  not  found  published  hitherto. 
Respectfully,  ' 

W.  E.  Hinds. 
Dr.  L.  <).   Howard. 

Chief  <>f  Division  <>f  Entomolo<j!i. 

On  the  13th  of  July,  in  accordance  with  your  instructions,  1  visited 
this  establishment  and  made  a  general  investigation.  The  business  is 
confined  to  what  is  practically  one  large  room,  having  about  3,000 
square  feet  on  the  ground  floor  and  a  cubical  content  of  about  75,000 
feet.  At  a  height  of  about  12  feet  a  wide  gallery  runs  around  three 
sides  of  the  room.  This  gallery,  as  well  as  the  main  floor,  is  filled  with 
tobacco  of  various  grades  and  styles  of  manufacture  and  in  all  kinds  of 
packages.  Altogether  the  stock  consisted  approximately  of  800,000 
cigars,  100,000  cigarettes,  and  37,000  pounds  of  smoking  and  chewing 
tobacco.  Only  a  very  small  portion  of  the  stock  showed  any  signs  of 
infestation,  and  this  was  stored  partly  in  the  gallery  and  partly  on  the 
main  floor.  Several  kinds  of  high-grade  smoking  mixtures  (obtained 
mostly,  as  the  proprietor  informed  me,  from  the  same  factory)  were 
being  seriously  damaged  by  the  cigarette  beetle,  Lasioderma  serricorne 
Fab.  It  was  stated  that  the  beetles  seldom  appeared  till  the  stock  was 
about  two  years  old,  and  the  proprietors  believed  that  the  f^ggs  were 
in  the  tobacco  when  it  was  packed,  but  that  they  remained  dormant  for 
a  year  or  so  more,  developing  abundantly  toward  the  end  of  the  second 
year.  This,  of  course,  is  not  the  case.  However,  it  may  be  possible 
that  souk4  stock  was  infested  at  the  factory  and  the  beetles  subse- 
quently passed  through  several  generations  in  the  package  before  their 
presence  was  discovered,  and  it  seems  very  probable,  since  the  beetles 
have  been  quite  abundant  in  the  store  for  at  least  the  past  two  years, 
that  stock  originally  clean  may  have  become  infested  in  the  store  dur- 
ing the  two  years  in  which  it  was  more  or  less  exposed  to  infestation. 

A  large  number  of  the  beetles  were  noticed  in  the4  store  last  year, 
and  a  small  portion  of  the  stock  was  at  that  time  treated  with  CS2;  but 
the  fact  that  some  of  the  old  stock  is  now  badly  infested  makes  it 
appear  very  probable  either  that  the  first  treatment  was  not  sufficiently 


extensive  to  include  all  the  infested  stock  or  that  it  was  not  thorough 
enough  to  destroy  all  the  beetles  in  what  was  treated.  This  partial 
treatment  was.  however,  sufficiently  successful  to  satisfy  the  propri- 
etors that  if  used  in  a  sufficiently  large  quantity  and  so  as  to  include 
the  entire  stock,  carbon  bisulphide  would  eradicate  the  pest.  They 
had.  therefore,  made  preparations  to  thoroughly  fumigate  the  whole 
establishment, applying  more  than  double  the  quantity  of  the  insecti- 
cide that  is  usually  recommended  in  such  work.  They  desired  to  clean 
out  the  beetles  at  any  cost  and  preferred  to  use  an  excessive  amount 
of  bisulphide  rather  than  be  obliged  to  repeat  the  treatment.  Accord- 
ingly, they  had  provided  200  pounds  of  CSa  and  about  35  shallow  tin 
pans  about  3  feet  long  by  1  foot  wide  and  1  inch  deep.  At  the  writer's 
suggestion,  an  additional  supply  of  evaporating  pans  was  obtained. 
Over  fifty  of  these  large  pans  were  distributed  around  the  room  in  as 
high  positions  a>  possible,  and  a  number  were  placed  on  top  of  the 
stock  stored  around  the  gallery.  The  stairway  and  elevator  shaft  lead- 
ing to  the  basement  were  tightly  closed  and  the  worst  infested  stock 
was  opened  and  the  boxes  spread  around  upon  the  lower  floor.  The 
cans  of  bisulphide  were  distributed  and  everything  done  to  facilitate 
rapid  work  in  the  application  of  the  liquid.  Owing  to  the  slight  danger 
of  generating  a  spark  in  turning  off  the  incandescent  lights  which  it 
would  be  necessary  to  have  if  the  application  were  made  at  night,  it 
was  thought  best  to  defer  the  exposure  of  the  liquid  till  early  on  Sun- 
day morning.  July  14.  (The  dangers  connected  with  the  use  of  carbon 
bisulphide  will  be  spoken  of  more  fully  at  another  place  in  this  report.) 
S  'on  after  6  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning  the  work  of  pouring  the 
bisulphide  into  the  pans  was  begun  simultaneously  by  the  six  persons 
(including  the  writer)  present.  Each  pan  received  from  2  to  3  pounds 
of  the  liquid.  The  pans  in  a  vault  and  the  show  window  and  in  the 
wall  show  cases  were  tilled  first  and  the  doors  to  those  compartments 
were  then  closed  to  retard  the  fumes.  Otherwise  the  doors  to  show 
cases  and  closets  and  the  drawers  were  all  left  slightly  ajar  to  allow 
the  unhindered  entrance  of  the  fumes.  The  pans  around  the  sides  of 
the  rooms  under  the  gallery  were  placed  so  high  that  a  5  or  6  foot 
stepladder  had  to  be  used  to  reach  most  of  them.  As  only  one  such 
ladder  was  at  hand,  the  work  was  somewhat  delayed  at  this  point,  and 
all  lower  pans  on  goods  along  the  middle  of  the  floor  and  on  show  cases 
were  tilled  before  the  work  on  the  higher  pans  could  be  completed.  In 
the  meantime  the  pans  in  the  gallery  were  being  tilled  and  the  fumes 
on  the  lower  floor  were  becoming  very  dense.  The  air  supply  had 
become  insufficient  for  the  workers,  and  instructions  were  given  to 
each  man  to  go  outdoor>  a-  soon  as  he  began  to  feel  dizzy.  This 
most  of  them  did.  and  after  a  few  refreshing  breaths  they  were  able 
to  return  to  the  work:  but  one  or  two  did  not  leave  the  room  until  the 
work  was  finished.     (The  effects  of  the  gas  upon  the  operator  will  be 


80 

considered  more  in  detail  at  another  point.)  After  about  145  pounds 
of  CS,  had  been  exposed,  occupying  from  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes, 
the  fumes  had  become  so  dense  that  we  were  forced  to  withdraw. 
The  building  was  then  carefully  locked  and  left  for  twenty-two  hours. 
People  passing  on  the  street  at  the  time  the  exposure  was  being  made 
and  those  having  business  in  adjoining  rooms  complained  of  the  exceed- 
ingly disagreeable  odor,  but  at  a  visit  to  the  premises  later  in  the  day 
the  writer  could  detect  but  very  slight  traces  of  the  odor  on  the  street, 
even  close  to  the  door.  No  guard  remained  near  the  building  during 
the  day. 

On  Monday  morning,  at  4.45,  the  store  was  opened  for  ventilation. 
The  density  of  the  fumes  had  greatly  diminished,  but  a  watch  was 
kept  to  see  that  no  one  passed  close  to  the  door  with  a  lighted  cigar 
until  the  fumes  had  mostly  disappeared.  In  forty-rive  minutes  the 
store  was  so  well  aired  that  but  little  of  the  disagreeable  odor 
remained,  though  for  several  days  slight  traces  of  the  odor  lingered 
in  the  room. 

An  examination  of  many  boxes  of  the  infested  stock  on  the  lower 
floor  disclosed  many  dead  beetles,  but  no  living  ones.  Unopened  boxes 
of  stock  in  the  galley  were  examined,  and  these  showed  only  about 
one  live  beetle  to  eveiy  one  hundred  dead  ones.  So  far  as  could  be 
determined  at  the  time,  the  treatment  was  very  successful,  and  the 
proprietor  expressed  himself  as  very  well  pleased  with  the  result. 

The  suggestion  was  made  that  future  trouble  with  the  cigarette 
beetle  might  probabhT  be  avoided  by  treating  incoming  stock  with  CS2 
in  a  quarantine  chamber  before  placing  it  in  the  sales  room.  In  the 
basement  the  writer  was  shown  a  large,  zinc-lined,  air-tight  box,  hav- 
ing 18  cubic  feet  capacity,  which  has  been  used  as  a  moistening  cham- 
ber. Upon  being  assured  that  this  was  an  admirable  thing  for  a 
quarantine  box,  the  proprietor  declared  it  his  purpose  to  adopt  the 
suggestion  and  treat  all  new  or  suspected  old  stock  in  this  way. 

DANGERS   IN   USE    OF   CARBON   BISULPHIDE. 

It  is  customary  when  anything  is  written  concerning  the  use  of  this 
very  volatile  and  highly  inflammable  liquid  to  emphasize  the  danger 
from  tire  in  the  presence  of  the  fumes,  and  it  is  usually  pointed  out 
particularly  that  even  alighted  cigar  may  cause  a  disastrous  explosion. 
The  writer  has  also  seen  printed  mention  of  the  danger  of  liberating 
the  fumes  in  the  presence  of  heated  steam  pipes.  So  it  seems  that  a 
brief  mention  of  a  few  other  points  of  danger  may  not  be  out  of  place 
here. 

No  electric  fan  should  be  allowed  to  run  in  the  presence  of  the  fumes, 
as  it  is  Liable  to  give  oil  occasional  sparks.  For  the  same  reason  "there 
would  be  danger  in  turning  on  an  incandescent  light,  and  though  the 
danger  in  turning  out  such  a  light  is  less  than  in  turning  it  on.  there 
[fi  -till  too  much  chance  of  forming  some  connection  which  would  pro- 


81 

duce  a  spark  to  run  the  risk  of  the  explosion  which  would  almost  surely 
follow.  The  writer  has  personally  experienced  the  formation  of  such 
a  spark  when  turning  off  a  light,  and  it  very  frequently  occurs  when 
turning  it  on.  The  danger  from  gas  and  arc  lights  is  too  apparent 
to  need  more  than  mention.  It  would  be  a  matter  of  courtesy  a-  well 
as  a  measure  of  safety  to  inform  occupants  of  adjoining  rooms  of  the 
nature  of  the  work  being  done  and  the  need  for  care  in  regard  to  fire 
should  the  fumes  mid  entrance  to  their  establishments.  An  additional 
safeguard  would  be  to  station  a  watchman  on  the  premises  till  the 
treatment  is  ended.  The  danger  to  the  operator  making  the  exposure 
is  but  -light  if  he  knows  the  nature  and  effects  of  the  gas.  As  soon  as 
he  finds  that  he  is  being  overcome  and  getting  dizzy,  he  should  at  once 
get  out  into  the  open  air. 

EFFECTS  OF  THE  GAS  UPON  THE  OPERATOR. 

The  rirst  appreciable  effect  is  upon  the  sense  of  smell.  At  first  the 
fumes  have  an  extremely  disagreeable  odor:  but  the  odor  soon  seems 
to  gradually  disappear,  and  in  this  treatment  the  men  strongly  doubted 
that  they  were  using  the  same  substance  with  which  they  began.  This 
deadening  of  the  smell  continues  until  it  is  complete.  The  other  senses 
s'  em  to  become  benumbed  simultaneously,  so  that  the  operator  does 
not  feel  or  realize  that  any  change  is  taking  place  in  him.  But  the 
heart  beat  becomes  more  and  more  rapid  as  the  supply  of  oxygen  in 
the  lungs  diminishes.  The  power  of  thought  is  very  much  weakened 
and  the  work  is  continued  in  a  mechanical  sort  of  way.  Hearing  and 
sight  are  also  weakened:  in  fact,  consciousness  itself  is  being  gradually 
lost.  But  before  this  weakening  process  has  gone  far  enough  to  be 
really  dangerous  or  injurious  the  operator  feels  rather  "queer"  in  the 
head,  with  more  or  less  dizziness.  There  is  no  pain  or  disagreeable 
sensation,  no  desire  to  escape  out  of  it.  and  no  sense  of  suffocation. 
But  when  a  person  reaches  this  condition  it  is  high  time  to  get  out 
into  the  open  air.  where  the  ill  effects  will  soon  disappear.  Should  the 
operator  persist  in  remaining  longer  in  the  room  after  this  condition 
is  reached  there  would  be  danger  of  a  fall:  and  if  no  one  happened  to  be 
near,  his  presence  might  not  be  missed  and  suffocation  would  soon 
follow.  Even  if  he  should  get  out  safely  the  after  effects  would  be 
more  serious  and  a  severe  headache,  at  least,  result.  It  should  be 
clearlv  understood,  however,  that  the  action  of  the  gas  is  somewhat 
poisoning  as  well  as  suffocating.  These  observations  concerning  the 
effects  of  the  gas  upon  the  men  are  gathered  from  personal  expe- 
rience and  the  statements  of  others  engaged  in  making  the  treatment 
herein  reported. 

Owing  to  the  effect  of  the  gas  upon  the  action  of  the  heart,  the 
writer  believes  that  it  would  be  wise  to  caution  persons  having  any 

4670— No.  30-4)1 0 


82 

trouble  or  weakness  about  the  heart  against  taking  any  part  in  the 
application  of  carbon  bisulphide. 

In  view  of  the  increasing  use  of  CSa  as  an  insecticide  and  the  scat- 
tered condition  of  such  observations  as  have  been  published  in  regard 
to  it.  the  writer  respectfully  suggests  the  desirability  of  a  more  com- 
prehensive report  than  has  yet  been  made,  published  in  some  such 
form  as  to  be  readily  available  to  all  those  desiring  practical  informa- 
tion upon  this  subject. 

GENERAL  NOTES. 

ICHNEUMONID    PARASITES   OP    THE    SUGAR-CANE    BORERS  IN   THE   ISLAND 

OF  REUNION. 

Under  this  title  M.  Edmond  Bordage,  director  of  the  Museum  of 
Natural  History  of  Reunion,  has  published  a  brief  account  of  Ophion 
mauritii  Saussure  and  of  0.  antankarus  Saussure,  which  are  parasitic 
in  Reunion  on  the  larva1  of  Diatrcea  striatalis  and  Sesamia  aZbiciliata, 
two  destructive  sugar-cane  borers  of  that  island  and  of  Mauritius.  He 
thinks  that  they  are  responsible  for  the  marked  reduction  in  the  num- 
bers of  the  borers. 

The  accompanying  figures  are  from  drawings  by  M.  Bordage,  and 
illustrate  the  wing  venation  of  0-  antankarus. 


n 


Fig.  29.— Wings  of  Ophion  antcmkarus—I,  upper  wing;  II.  lower  wing.    The  large  cell  (cd)  of  the  upper 

wing  has  three  spots  of  reddish  or  yellowish  color,  which  are  given  in  detail  much  eidarged  in 
Fig.  Ill;  they  take  the  form  of  a  crescent,  i  mere  Speck,  and  a  triaDgle.  (With  0.  mauritii  th  're 
i--  found  in  the  interior  of  the  large  cell  («J)  only  one  spot  which  is  formed  like  a  triangle.) 


INSECTS    FROM    BRITISH    HONDURAS. 

The  Rev.  W.  A.  Stanton.  S.  J.,  of  St.  Louis  University,  St.  Louis. 
Mo.,  sent  February  L2,  L900,  for  identification  certain  insects  col- 
lected at  Belize,  British  Honduras.  The  notes  which  accompanied 
them  are  of  interest. 

An  insect  known  locally  as  the  "doctor  My"  was  identified  as 
DiacMorus ferrugatvs  Fabr.     Mi-.  Stanton  writes: 

The  fearful  l<><:il  swelling  which  follows  the  bite  of  these  insects  causes  them  to  he 
regarded  with  dread  by  the  Inhabitants.  The  effect,  however,  varies  in  different 
individuals. 


83 

Some  small  flies,  very  troublesome  in  some  quarters,  and  called  by 
the  natives  "botlass"  flies,  were  determined  as  a  species  of  Simulium; 

unfortunately,  the  specimens  were  too  badly  injured  for  study.  The 
bite  01  this  insect  is  quite  painful  and  leaves  a  black  spot  on  the  skin, 
surrounded  by  a  reddish  circle  which  lasts  for  a  week  or  more. 

A  species  of  tick  taken  from  the  body  of  one  of  the  deadly  "tom- 
mygotT*  snake-,  a  species  of  Lachesis  or  u bushmaster,"  quite  common 
in  Belize,  was  identified  as  belonging  to  a  species  <>f  Ophiod» ss. 

Three  spiders  were  sent  and  identified  as  Argyroepeira  wrgyra 
Walck.,  Argiope  argentata  Fab.,  and  Ga&teraccmtha  caruirifbrmis 
Linn.  The  dorsal  surface  of  the  abdomen  of  the  last  named  when 
alive  is  brick  red  in  color,  though  many  individuals  are  found,  seem- 
ing to  an  ordinary  observer  to  be  of  the  same  species,  in  which  the 
color  is  pure  white,  or  sometimes  lemon  yellow. 

The  sending  also  included  specimens  of  the  white  ant.  Termes  sp. 
(probably  morio),  and  a  small  black  ant.  very  common  in  Belize, 
known  scientifically  as  Oryptocervs  (dfaroi  Em.  9 

NOTES    FROM    THE    PHILIPPINE-. 

Lieut.  Alfred  T.  Clifton  wrote  this  office  April  20,  1900,  from  mili- 
tary station  No.  5.  Bacolod.  Negros,  Philippine  Islands,  transmitting 
some  specimen-,  with  interesting  note-.  A  giant  wasp  which  he  sends 
he  states  is  called  in  the  Philippines  ,*avisar."  or  take  notice,  a  suffi- 
ciently suggestive  name  for  an  insect  of  its  class. 

At  the  time  of  writing  grasshoppers  were  very  destructive,  ruining 
the  sugar  crop  in  a  few  hours  wherever  they  stopped.  Our  corre- 
spondent had  seen  great  clouds  of  these  creatures,  so  numerous  that 
they  obscured  the  sun.  passing  over  the  town.  The  natives  on  haci- 
endos  on  such  occasions  turn  out  and  beat  on  bamboo  and  make  a 
racket  to  frighten  them  off. 

The  grasshoppers  are  very  ravenous — always  hungry.  In  the  morn- 
ing you  can  pass  a  field  of  young  sugar  cane  a  foot  high,  and  when 
you  return  that  way  at  noon  it  will  sometimes  look  as  if  nothing  had 
ever  been  planted.  Notwithstanding  this,  these  langosta.  as  they  are 
termed  by  the  inhabitants,  are  considered  a  great  delicacy,  but  our 
correspondent  had  never  had  the  courage  to  test  this  personally. 

It  i-  customary  to  place  obstructions  of  sections  of  banana  trees  on 
top  of  the  furrows  of  growing  cane,  and  the  locust  eats  the  canes  fur- 
row by  furrow,  and  when  he  reaches  the  obstruction,  instead  of  going 
over  it.  he  hops  to  the  end  where  a  hole  has  previously  been  dug.  into 
which  he  falls.  Here  the  locusts  are  collected  and  are  then  boiled. 
after  removing  the  legs,  heads,  and  wings.  Thus  prepared  they  make 
a  black-looking  me--.  One  haciendero  stated  to  our  correspondent 
that  he  had  shipped  a  load  of  locusts  to  Iloilo.  where  they  were  worth 
£4  a  bag. 

The  natives  believe  that  the  locusts  come  everv  seventh  year. 


84 

MISCELLANEOUS    NOTES    FROM    KANSAS. 

Mr.  V.  V.  Crevecceur,  Onaga,  Kans..  an  entomologist  of  consider- 
able experience  and  a  valued  correspondent  of  this  office,  has  reported 
tlic  results  of  some  interesting  observations  made  by  him  during  the 
past  season  (1900).     Some  of  these  are.  in  brief,  as  follows: 

Nbtonecta  undulata,  one  of  the  common,  so-called  back-swimmers, 
was  observed  feeding  upon  a  related  species,  Anisops  platycnemis,  on 
one  of  our  largest  species  of  Corisa,  and  on  the  Dytiscid  water  beetle, 
( bptotomus  interrogatus. 

March  L9  a  species  of  spider,  Xysticus  gulosus\  was  noticed  feeding 
on  the  dung  beetle.  Aphodius  inquietus,  under  a  ,oard  on  the  ground. 

Orepidodera  rufipes,  the  red-legged  flea  beetle,  a  long  account  of 
which  was  published  some  years  ago  in  Volume  V  of  Insect  Life 
(pp.  341),  was  stated  to  be  very  abundant  in  the  State  of  Kansas.  It  is 
a  destructive  enemy  of  young  peach,  cherry,  and  other  fruit  trees. 

May  30  a  wasp,  Odynerus  tigris,  was  observed  bearing  a  larva  and 
living  about  a  post  in  a  barn  looking  for  a  hole  in  which  to  deposit  it. 
The  next  day  some  of  the  same  kind  of  larvae,  as  well  as  pupae,  were 
found  on  the  willowr,  Salix  amygdaloides,  which  were  reared  and 
proved  to  be  Lino  scripta,  the  streaked  cottonwood  leaf-beetle. 

June  *>.  Anomcea  laticlawa,  an  interesting  Chrysomelid,  was  reared 
from  its  pupal  case  found  under  a  log  about  a  month  before.  This 
case,  which  was  made  of  dirt,  was  described  as  about  five-eighths  of 
an  inch  long  by  half  that  width,  convex  laterally,  and  somewhat  con- 
cave longitudinally  on  the  under  side,  with  a  fringe  along  the  sides 
and  crimped  on  the  under  side  only,  giving  the  case  the  appearance  of 
being  of  organic  origin  instead  of  being  of  dirt. 

June  is  Plusia  hrassicce,  the  cabbage  looper,  was  reared  from  larvae 
on  cottonwood,  which  pupated  June  9.  June  21  the  same  species 
issued  from  the  larva  taken  on  cottonwood,  which  pupated  June  12. 
It  will  be  noted  that  the  pupal  stage  in  both  cases  lasted  nine  days. 

On  two  occasions  during  the  latter  days  of  June  DasyUis  tergissa^ 
a  Large  robber  fly,  was  noticed  feeding  upon  Macrobasis  unicolor, 
the  ash-gray  blister-beetle,  Onthophagus  hecate,  a  dung-beetle,  and 
Euschistus  tristigrrms^  a  plant-bug. 

June  L0  Atomosia  puella  was  noticed  feeding  upon  Lonchosa  rufitar- 
X//.S-.  both  Dipt  era. 

» J une  11  Macrobasis  unicolor  was  observed  feeding  on  the  bloom  of 
hollyhock.  It  had  ragged  three  or  four  flowers  on  this  plant  when 
observed. 

While  picking  strawberries  our  correspondent  happened  to  touch  a 
specimen  <>t"  the  plant-bug  Eusckistus  vcvriolarius,  which  is  often  found 
feeding  (,n  the  fruit  of  berries,  and  noticed  that  a  small  quantity  of 
the  fluid  which  this  species  exudes  when  disturbed  caused  a  very  pain- 


85 

ful  sensation  on  a  sore  spot  on  his  finger,  almost  like  that  produced  by 
a  burn. 

During  the  last  week  of  September  two  species  of  ants  were  noticed 
devouring-  apples  on  trees,  some  of  the  fruit  having*  been  almost  com- 
pletely devoured  and  badly  honeycombed  at  the  time. 

October  6  Euphoria  inda,  tin1  brown  fruit-chafer,  was  observed 
feeding  upon  some  apples  that  had  been  injured  by  ants. 

UNUSUAL    INJURY    BY    CUTTING    ANTS    IN    TEXAS. 

One  of  our  correspondents.  Mr.  H.  Booton.  of  Richmond.  Tex., 
writes,  under  date  of  September  2.  of  very  unusual  injury  by  cutting- 
ants  in  that  State.  As  his  letter  is  of  unusual  interest,  we  copy  it 
entire: 

Replying  to  yours  of  the  20th  of  August,  in  regard  to  the  night  ants,  as  you  desig- 
nate them,  it  is  the  same  ant  1  refer  to.  We  call  them  the  cutting  ants.  In  the  lot 
next  to  me  here  in  Richmond  these  ants  undermined  the  wall  to  the  city  schoolhouse, 
causing  the  wall  to  fall.  This  same  nest  of  ants  destroyed  lh  acres  of  my  orchard. 
I  have  gone  down  10  feet  after  these  ants.  The  school  and  county  authorities  sent 
to  Galveston,  Tex.,  for  an  architect  to  examine  this  house  and  give  the  cause  of  these 
walls  falling,  for  which  they  paid  this  man  §50.  I  was  present  when  this  man  exam- 
ined these  walls.  He  pronounced  them  good  walls — a  sound  foundation — the  second 
best  that  can  be  made.  He  could  not  find  the  cause  of  the  north  wall  falling.  I 
offered  him  my  assistance,  which  he  accepted,  and  in  five  minutes  I  satisfied  him  that 
these  ants  had  undermined  this  wall  and  were  the  cause  of  its  falling.  He  so  reported 
it  and  said  it  was  the  first  wall  in  all  his  experience  he  had  known  to  be  destroyed 
by  these  cutting  ants.  I  dug  six  holes,  from  8  to  10  feet  deep,  in  my  yard  for  these 
ants.  I  smoked  them  with  sulphur,  which  ran  them  under  this  brick  house.  The 
results  I  have  stated.  This  nest  of  ants  was  destroyed  or  run  away  by  the  water 
running  from  the  gutters  off  this  house  onto  this  nest  after  the  wall  had  fallen.  I  use 
a  buffalo  blower  to  force  the  fumes  of  the  sulphur  into  the  holes  of  the  ants.  Bisul- 
phide of  carbon  will  not  kill  the  cutting  ants.  It  will  kill  the  hill  ants.  These  cut- 
ting ants  will  carry  London  purple  and  Paris  green  from  100  to  200  yards.  I  know 
of  a  well  in  this  county  which  these  ants  destroyed  by  depositing  London  purple  in 
it,  and  this  well  was  nearly  200  yards  from  where  these  ants  were  fed  on  the  London 
purple.     I  am  the  only  man  in  this  county  who  can  kill  these  cutting  ants. 

INJURIOUS    MOTHS    ATTRACTED    TO    LIGHTS    IX    AUTUMN. 

On  the  morning  of  September  23  the  writer's  attention  was  attracted 
to  numerous  individuals  of  the  cotton  moth  (Aletia  a/rgiUacea  Hbn.)  in 
the  vicinity  of  electric-light  globes  in  the  business  streets  of  Washing- 
ton. The  same  species,  together  with  the  boll  worm  moth  and  other 
Xoctuidae,  were  noticed  at  lights  during  the  same  evening,  and  the 
injurious  forms  predominated  to  such  a  degree  that  a  tour  was  made 
of  all  available  electric-light  globes  of  the  vicinny.  From  the  captures 
an  estimate  was  made  and  it  was  found  that  of  the  different  species  of 
moths  attracted  to  the  lights  up  to  11.30  p.  m.  about  85  per  cent  were 
injurious  and  the  remainder  innoxious.  Other  orders  were  conspicu- 
ous by  their  scarcity.     A  few  common  species  of  beetles,  such  as  Silpha 


86 

surmarru  nsls  and  Carabidse,  were  found  here  and  there  occasionally, 
as  also  numerous  gnats  of  no  known  Importance,  economically  or  other- 
wise. Outside  of  tin*  Lepidoptera  the  only  insect  commonly  seen  was 
a  chrysopa  llv  {Chrysopa  oculata),  a  well-known  beneficial  species. 
The  temperature  at  the  time  of  collecting  was  about  05°  on  the  streets, 
but  the  official  reported  temperature  was  60°. 

The  list  which  follows  of  the  species  captured,  and  the  percentage 
of  their  occurrence,  both  on  the  date  of  capture  and  an  estimate  of  their 
occurrence  during  the  week  ending  September  23,  may  be  found  of 
interest,  not  only  as  showing  the  value  of  lights  in  attracting  injurious 
forms  in  autumn,  but  also  for  comparison  with  the  list  of  insects  cap- 
tured in  a  cotton  field  near  Victoria,  Tex.,  October  1,  Lsi>7.  which  was 
published  in  Bulletin  No.  18  (n.  s.,  pages  85-88).  Fully  half  of  the  spe- 
cies listed  are  Southern,  i.  ...  forms  more  frequently  found  in  the 
South  than  in  the  Northern  States.  Anyone  who  has  paid  any  atten- 
tion to  the  species  of  insects  attracted  to  lights  in  spring  and  summer 
can  not  have  failed  to  have  been  struck  with  the  fact  that  beneficial 
forms  are  frequently  so  abundant  as  to  show  in  many  cases  that  the 
lights  are  of  practically  no  value  whatever  in  reducing  the  numbers 
of  destructive  insects.  Although  the  noxious  forms  outnumber  the 
others,  it  must  always  be  remembered  that  each  individual  of  a  preda- 
ceous  or  parasitic  species  during  a  lifetime  is  capable  of  destroying 
many  individuals  of  the  injurious  species. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  captures: 


Latin  name. 


Common  name. 


Septem- 
ber 23. 


Week's 

average. 


Alotia  argillacea 

I  Idiot  his  armiger 

Leucania  unipunffta 

Laphygma  frugiperda 

cram  bus  vulvivagellus 

Bypena  scabra 

Plusia  brassicse 

I-Vltia  Bubgothica 

Agrotis  ypailon 

Protoparce  Carolina 

Protoparceceleus 

Pyralia  costalis 

Thyridopteryx  ephemeraeformis 

I'lusia  precatioms 

Loxoetege  similalis 

Prodenia  ornithogalli 

Miscellaneous  injurious  species . 
Innoxious  Bpecies  ol  moths 


Cotton  worm 

Corn  car  worm,  boll  worm 

Army  worm 

Fall  army  worm 

Vagabond  crambus 

Green  clover  worm 

Cabbage  looper 

Dingy  cutworm 

Black  cutworm 

Tomato  worm 

Tobacco  worm 

Clover  hay  worm 

Bagworm 

A  cabbage  looper 

Garden  webworm 

Cotton  cutworm 


Per  c<  nt. 

26 
9 
6 
5 

12 
4 
5 
9 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
•) 

1 


l'i  i-  <■<  nt. 
5 

16 
6 
3 

12 
3 
8 

20 


15 


10 


— F.  II.  C. 


THE    ANdOUMOIS   GRAIN    MOTH    IN    PENNSYLVANIA. 


Ii  might  (>c  remembered  by  some  of  our  correspondents  that  we 
made  mention  of  the  fact  that  the  A.ngoumois  grain  moth  (Sitotroga 
cerealella  01.)  is  known  to  occur  in  the  field  as  far  north  as  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.     From  accounts  which  have  reached  us  this  fall  (L(.><h>),  it  is 


87 

evident  that  the  extreme  heat  of  the  past  summer  induced  numerous 
individuals  of  this  species  to  fly  northward,  and  it  is  also  evident,  from 
the  numerous  reports  of  injury,  that  the  species  is  established  out- 
doors, at  least  temporarily,  in  other  localities  than  Philadelphia. 
Writing  November  30,  1900.  Mr.  J.  E.  Walker  states  that  this  insect 
was  ruining  the  wheat  crop  in  the  vicinity  of  Media.  Pa.  He  writes 
that  it  can  not  be  fanned  out,  as  the  hull  or  injured  kernel  and  the 
insect  are  apparently  so  nearly  of  the  same  weight.  In  one  instance 
men  at  work  upon  w^heat  were  obliged  to  leave  the  barn  at  various 
intervals  during  the  process  of  threshing  to  clear  their  throats  and 
relieve  their  noses  from  the  flying  insects,  which  came  in  clouds,  both 
dead  and  alive,  from  the  machine.  The  presence  of  the  insect  in  the 
grain  was  not  discovered  until  threshing  commenced,  in  November. 
Most  of  the  wheat  in  that  vicinity  was  threshed  in  July  and  sold,  or 
complaints  of  injury  would  probably  have  been  general. 

Writing  again  January  23,  our  correspondent  stated  that  after 
inquiry  among  persons  residing  in  the  neighboring  towns  he  ascertained 
the  extent  of  injury  by  this  species  to  comprise  a  district  radiating 
from  Media  and  extending  from  Philadelphia  to  Newtown  Square,  to 
Westchester,  to  Kennett  Square,  to  Ashland,  Del.,  and  up  the  Dela- 
ware River  to  Philadelphia,  which  completed  the  circuit.  He  expa- 
tiated on  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  the  information  desired,  owing  to 
a  general  suspicion  on  the  part  of  persons  interviewed  that  the  infor- 
mation which  they  might  give  would  interfere  with  the  sale  of  their 
farms;  also  that  it  was  simply  out  of  the  question  to  endeavor  to  per- 
suade farmers  to  apply  remedies  to  grain  that  had  been  threshed. 
They  were  all  willing  to  sell  for  what  the  grain  might  bring,  and  it 
was  left  to  the  middleman  to  do  the  '•doctoring."  Some  interesting 
instances  of  infestation  by  this  species  were  cited.  One  person  owning 
a  farm  at  Newtown  Square  threshed  his  grain  from  the  mow.  shipped 
600  bushels  to  Philadelphia,  and  when  the  car  was  opened  the  next  day 
the  grain  was  so  badly  heated  that  a  man  walked  on  the  top  of  it  with- 
out making  an  impression  with  his  shoe  soles.  Those  who  threshed 
immediately  after  harvest  succeeded  in  effecting  a  sale  of  their  wheat. 
A  milling  company  at  Kennett  Square  was  refusing  to  take  wheat  for 
grinding,  as  several  thousand  bushels  in  stock  was  badly  damaged 
before  the  presence  of  the  moth  was  discovered.  Another  mill  at  Ash- 
land. Del.,  was  caught  like  the  preceding.  Six  thousand  bushels  was 
damaged.  Injury  was  general  about  Westchester,  especially  to  wheat 
which  was  stored  in  the  sheaf  and  permitted  to  remain  some  length  of 
time  before  threshing. 

February  6,  1901,  we  received  information  from  a  milling  company 
of  New  York  City  that  this  species,  specimens  of  which  were  sent, 
was  very  generally  destructive  throughout  New  Jersey  and  eastern 
Pennsvlvania. 


88 

l  8B    OF    BULPHUB    as    a    REMEDT    FOE   THE    [NDIAN-MEAL   MOTH. 

Mr.  A.  Martin.  Lamont,  S.  Dak.,  writes,  under  date  of  November  3, 
L900,  that  during  the  summer  of  L899  the  [ndian-meal  moth  {Plodia 
irderpunctella  I Il»n.)  became  so  numerous  that  he  was  obliged  to  have 
recourse  to  remedies.     Having  a  hard-coal  heater  in  the  building  in 

which  the  infested  grain  was  stored,  he  decided  to  make  an  experi- 
ment. The  first  was  to  ascertain  if  coal  gas  and  heat  would  have  any 
effect  on  his  unwelcome  guests.  Neither  produced  the  desired  result. 
On  the  contrary,  the  heat  enabled  the  insects  to  multiply  more  rapidly, 
and  the  grain  tor  a  foot  or  so  nearest  the  heater  became  quite  hot — as 
high  as  L10    F. 

Sulphur  was  tried.  3  pounds  being  burned  in  a  couple  of  days,  with 
result  that  it  killed  some  of  the  moths,  the  fumes  not  being  strong 
enough  to  effect  the  destruction  of  the  larvae.  He  next  tried  3  pounds 
of  sulphur,  repeating  with  3  pounds  more.  This  killed  all  the  moths 
not  protected  by  being  under  boards  or  in  similar  localities.  It  did 
not  affect  the  larvae  as  far  as  could  be  seen.  Our  correspondent  esti- 
mates that  the  moths  could  all  be  killed  at  an  expense  of  about,  say, 
5  pounds  of  sulphur  to  10,000  cubic  feet. 

Bisulphide  of  carbon  cost,  in  this  case,  25  cents  a  pound,  and  was 
therefore  too  expensive. 


Since  writing  on  the  so-called  "olinda  bug"  (Pandamorus  olinda 
Perk.),  in  "Notes  on  insects  affecting  the  koa  trees  at  Haiku  Forest, 
Maui."  specimens  were  given  to  me  at  San  Francisco  by  Mr.  Charles 
Fuchs,  who  claims  that  they  were  common  in  gardens  of  that  city. 
Mr.  E.  A.  Schwarz,  to  whom  we  showed  specimens,  pronounced  them 
the  well-known  "  Fuller's  rose  beetle"  {Aramigus  fulleri  Horn).  The 
insect  has  been  figured  in  the  Report  of  the  Entomologist  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  for  1879. l  Dr.  Riley  states  that  a-  early 
as  L8T6  specimens  were  sent  to  him  by  Mr.  A.  S.  Fuller,  who  found 
it  hi  greenhouses  somewhat  injurious  to  camellias.  In  his  report,  Dr. 
Riley  stated  that  "it  seems  to  be  quite  widespread,  occurring  from  the 
Atlantic  at  least  as  far  west  as  Montana,  and  its  habit  of  injuriously 
affecting  roses  and  other  greenhouse  plants  must  be  looked  upon  as  a 
comparatively  recent  acquirement." 

'The  so-called  *" Olinda  bug"  is  found  on  Oahu,  and  lately  occurred 
in  destructive  numbers  at  Kohala  and  Kan,  on  Hawaii.  The  injury  of 
this  beetle  to  trees  is  in  reality  not  as  serious  as  it  would  appear,  and 
its  presence  upon  older  trees  is  barely  noticed,  while1  upon  the  young 
trees  growing  among  the  Ililo  grass  its  presence  is  more  apparent. 

lMore  recently  Mr.  Chittenden  has  given  an  account  of  thia  species  in  Bui.  27, 


89 

We  have  seen  many  trees  of  the  Java  plum,  recently  planted,  with 
every  leaf  eaten  off,  and  some  have  died  from  the  effects  of  the  beetle 
and  Hilo  grass  combined,  while  others  again  barely  showed  any  sign 
of  the  beetle.  Reports  from  Kohala  state  that  the  beetle  also  devours 
the  bark  of  young  trees.  This  we  have  never  observed,  but  have  no 
doubt  of  its  accuracy  Avhere  food  is  scarce.  Most  any  plant  or  tree, 
and  even  the  grass,  is  attacked  by  the  beetle.  The  insect  appears  to 
be  most  numerous  along-  the  border  of  the  forest,  and  it  is  found  from 
the  seashore  up  as  high  as  5,000  feet.  Seven  years  ago  we  were 
shown  the  beetle  at  Paia.  destructive  to  roses  and  garden  plants  in 
general.  Mr.  Perkins  reports  having  some  years  since  seen  remains 
of  the  same  at  the  base  of  koa  trees  near  Olinda  to  a  depth  of  several 
inches.  It  must  have  been  present  on  the  islands  long  before  it  became 
prominent,  and  it  is  likely  an  introduction  from  Mexico,  and  probably 
came  from  Acapulco. 

The  life  history  of  the  beetle  is  as  yet  but  imperfectly  known.  Four 
years  ago  we  found  its  larva1  under  stones  at  Olinda,  and  collected 
large  numbers  of  the  same  in  all  stages  on  this  trip  feeding  on  the 
roots  of  Hilo  grass.  We  have  obtained  its  eggs  in  confinement,  depos- 
ited in  clusters  of  some  75,  of  a  light-yellow  color,  from  three-fourths 
to  lmm.  long  and  half  as  wide.  At  the  office  we  find  that  large  num- 
bers of  young  larva?  issue  from  galls  produced  by  the  Tortricid  larva?. 
Here  the  eggs  are  inserted  anywhere  where  a  hole  is  convenient,  and 
are  embedded  in  irregular  masses  partly  covered  by  excremental  re- 
mains. We  should  think  that  they  are  also  found  under  the  bark  of 
trees  on  which  the  beetles  feed.  It  was  found  that  the  large  number  of 
gall-like  swellings  on  the  terminal  branches  of  the  koa  trees  brought 
down  for  observation  produced  hundreds  of  young  larvae  of  the  "  Rose 
beetle."  Whenever  the  galls  showed  any  holes,  or  if  partly  split, 
they  had  been  thrust  full  of  eggs,  often  an  inch  or  more  in  length. 
Doubtless  this  is  done  by  several  individuals  when  present  in  such 
enormous  numbers  as  at  Haiku.  In  gardens  and  small  areas  of  land 
the  beetles  are  easily  dealt  with,  since  they  are  wingless  and  can  only 
crawl.  They  can  readily  be  shaken  on1'  smaller  trees  into  a  bucket  of 
water  with  a  little  kerosene  and  destroyed.  This  can  be  done  at  any 
time  during  the  day  or  night  while  the  beetles  remain  stationary  upon 
the  plants,  where,  if  numerous,  they  will  congregate  in  clusters. 

Aramigus futteri  has  not  many  enemies.  The  indigenous  Carabid 
beetles  on  higher  elevations  must  destroy  many  of  their  larvae. 

Insectivorous  birds  evidently  feed  largely  upon  the  beetles.  We 
found  excrements  of  the  mina  or  niynah  bird  consisting  entirely  of 
remains  of  these  beetles.  Quails  are  considered  as  excellent  birds  to 
destroy  such  insects;  fowls  should  keep  the  surroundings  of  houses 
free  of  them.     Probably  some  90  per  cent  of  the  food  of  the  mongoose 


90 

consists  of  insects,  roaches,  crickets,  grasshoppers,  and  centipedes, 
and.  from  examination  made,  he  also  feeds  upon  the  "Olinda  bug." — 
Ajlbert  Koebele. 

3INGULAB    [N8TANCB8   OF    attack    on    III  man    BEINGS    Bl     [NSECT& 

From  time  to  time  we  are  in  receipt  of  specimens  of  insects  from 

nearlv  every  quarter  of  the  globe  with  report  that  the  species  -cut 
had  caused  annoyance  by  attacking  men.  In  previous  publications  of 
this  Department  we  have  had  occasion  to  mention  more  or  less  in  detail 
the  attacks  and  alleged  attacks  of  the  so-called  "kissing  bug,"  mos- 
quitoes, fleas,  bedbugs,  and  various  other  insects  which  are  known  to 
attack  man  habitually.  Extreme  cases,  however,  are  constantly  being 
reported,  and  some  of  these  may  be  of  interest.  During  December, 
1900,  we  received  a  communication  from  Mr.  V.  D.  Granger,  of  the 
United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  this  city,  with  accompany- 
ing specimens  of  the  ground  beetle  (JTcvrpalw  erraticus),  a  common 
species  in  the  West,  which  had  been  taken  in  September  of  that  year 
on  the  farm  of  Mr.  William  Lord,  at  Page,  Xebr.  Mr.  Lord  said  he 
had  never  noticed  the  insects  before  that  year,  but  remarked  that  they 
were  ifc savage  biters."  Mr.  Granger  stated  that  personal  experience 
proved  the  correctness  of  this  assertion,  and  that  not  only  he  but 
other  members  of  the  party  camped  in  that  vicinity  were  bitten  by 
these  beetles. 

EFFICIENCY    OF    THE    TWO-SPOTTED    LADYBIRD    AS   A    PLANT-LOUSE 

DESTROYER. 

During  the  latter  part  of  June  Mr.  J.  J.  Newbaker,  Steelton,  Pa., 
and  Mr.  M.  P.  Jones,  Morristown,  N.  J.,  sent  specimens  of  the  cherry 
aphis  {Mt/zii*  cerasi)  and  of  the  apple  louse  {Aphis  mali)  on  peach  and 
apple,  respectively,  in  both  cases  with  accompanying  specimens  of 
the  two-spotted  ladybird  {Adalia  bijnmctata)  in  the  pupal  condition 
when  received.  The  pupa*  were  found  in  groups  of  half  a  dozen  and 
more  within  the  curled-up  leaves,  and  in  neither  case  were  any  plant 
lice  remaining,  the  larva'  having  devoured  them  all  before  transform- 
ing. It  seems  probable  that  a  similar  condition  of  affairs  existed  in 
both  localities  upon  the  trees. 

Till:    "OVERFLOW    BUG"    AGAIN. 

October  ir>.  1900,  Mr.  J.  Hardy.  Milton.  Cal.,  sent  specimens  of  the 
ground  beetle  Plcdywus  mactilicoUis,  known  in  California  as  the  "over- 
flow bug"  or  u grease  bug."  with  report  that  the  species  was  a  very 
annoying  pesl  in  that  vicinity  at  that  time  of  the  year.  Our  corre- 
spondent writes: 

They  make  their  appearance  about  dusk,  within  three  or  four  days  after  the  rain. 
and  remain  from  ten  .lay-  to  three  «<rks.  They  enter  the  houses  in  greal  numbers 
and  gel  into  everything.     Lf  disturbed  they  emit  a  strong  fetid  stifling  odor. 


91 

Thev  enter  the  best  built  houses,  which  other  pests  never  enter,  nor  does  cleanli- 
about  the  premises  or  location  on  high  or  low  ground  seem  to  make  any  differ- 
ence.    *    *    *    They  will  walk  off  of  sticky  paper,  and  "bohach"  does  not  affect 

them.  To  give  you  some  idea  of  how  they  run  over  us.  I  will  say  that  I  can  at  this 
time  (8  p.  m.  )  count  over  50  crawling  over  a  small  table,  about  1|  by  3  feet,  in  front 
of  me. 

A  letter  from  the  pen  of  Mrs.  A.  E.  Bush,  one  of  our  California 
correspondent-,  was  published  concerning  this  insect  in  the  American 
Naturalist  of  August.  1882  (pp.  681,  >*>>l;i.  and  we  published  a  brief  note 
from  correspondence  with  Mr.  A.  A.  Eaton.  Riverside.  CaL.  in  Insect 
Life.  Volume  V.  page  342.  This  beetle  is  a  Carabid,  and.  like  most 
species  of  this  family,  may  be  predaceous.  A  number  of  the  beetles 
were  confined  in  a  small  box  and  sent  to  us  by  Mr.  Hardy,  and  nearly 
all  reached  this  city  in  good  condition,  a  very  unusual  state  of  affairs 
when  it  is  considered  that  they  were  in  such  close  confinement  and  had 
nothing  to  feed  upon.  Even  one  beetle  that  died  did  not  appear  to 
have  been  attacked  by  its  fellow  prisoners.  Possibly  the  disagreeable 
odor  emitted  by  the  beetles  may  have  an  effect  in  deterring  others  from 
attack. 

A    REMEDY    FOR    FLEA-BEETLES    IX    CALIFORNIA    VIXEYARDS. 

We  are  in  receipt  of  a  communication  from  Mr.  E.  H.  Twight.  San 
Francisco,  CaL.  dated  May  15. 1901,  in  which  he  states  that  flea-beetles 
do  great  damage  in  California  at  times,  and  that  if  the  pests  are  not 
too  numerous  they  can  be  fought  with  a  flat  with  a  slot  to  fit  around 
the  trunk  of  the  vine,  ending  in  a  bag.  When  this  is  used  early  in  the 
day.  before  it  becomes  too  warm,  the  insects  drop  in  with  a  slight 
shake  of  the  vine.  A  man  is  supposed  to  treat  200  vine^  in  an  hour. 
When  the  bag  is  full  it  is  dipped  in  hot  water  and  the  insects  fed  to 
chickens. 

When  the  flea-beetles  appear  regularly  every  season,  our  correspond- 
ent states,  it  is  desirable  to  keep  the  vineyard  free  of  weeds,  bushes, 
dirt,  and  other  accumulations,  and  in  fall  place  some  artificial  shelters, 
such  as  stray  covers,  about  the  vineyard  on  the  ground,  so  that  these 
can  be  burned  in  winter  when  the  pest  seeks  them  as  a  shelter  in  which 
to  hibernate. 

IXJURY    TO    RUSTIC    CEDAR    FEXCES    AXD    SUMMERHOUSES    BY    BORERS. 

May  24.  1900,  Mr.  J.  Harold  Austin.  Lansdowne.  Pa.,  complained 
of  injury  by  CaUidium  janthvnum  Lee.,  judging  by  his  description, 
to  a  small  rustic  cabin,  built  of  red  cedar,  at  that  place.  During  the 
past  five  years  injury  by  C.  janthiny/m  and  some  few  other  borers  has 
noticed  by  the  writer  to  fences  and  summerhouses  and  other 
rustic  buildings  in  many  suburban  homes  and  public  resorts  in  the 
vicinity  of  Washington.  I).  C.     This  borer,  with  Hylotrup**  Ugneus 


92 

Fab.,  was  by  far  the  most  numerous,  but  other  insects  assist  somewhat 
in  the  injury,  among  them  Atimia  confusa  Say.  The  first  or  second 
year  after  the  borers  have  begun  work  the  woodwork  is  greatly 
marred  by  the  exit  holes  which  are  left  in  the  bark. 

May  L3,  LJK)1,  we  received  information  from  Dr.  R.  IT.  Lawton, 
together  with  accompanying  specimens,  that  ITylotrupes  ligneus  was 
the  cause  of  considerable  trouble  in  the  cedars  in  his  vicinity.  March 
30  the  beetles  made  their  appearance  in  an  office  in  that  town  and 
were  very  plentiful  until  the  middle  of  April,  when  the}-  disappeared. 
Dr.  Lawton  found  in  a  basement  a  pile  of  cedar  sticks  from  which 
the  insects  had  emerged.  The  sticks  were  badly  damaged  and  fully 
accounted  for  the  number  of  the  beetles. 

There  seems  to  be  no  practical  remedy  when  cedar  wood  is  used  for 
outdoor  ornamental  purposes.  If  it  were  kept  indoors  for  a  season  or 
more  and  saturated  in  April  and  May  with  gasoline,  or  some  similar 
preparation,  it  might  be  kept  free  from  infestation  and  in  time  the 
wood  would  be  so  dry  that  the  borers  would  not  attack  it. — F.  H.  C. 

INEFFECTIVENESS    OF    KEROSENE    EMULSION    AGAINST  WHITE    GRUBS. 

One  of  the  remedies  which  has  been  frequently  suggested  as  of 
value  against  white  grubs  is  the  kerosene  emulsion.  Its  use  has  been 
advised  in  various  publications  and  in  the  correspondence  of  this 
Division. 

Kerosene  emulsion  diluted  with  15  parts  of  water,  applied  to  celery 
by  Mr.  Lull,  formerly  of  this  Division,  in  1893,  did  not  injure  the 
plants,  but  killed  the  larvae  of  Allorhina  nitida  Avhich  were  at  or  near 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  but  apparently  failed  entirel}T  to  reach  such 
larvae  as  were  at  a  depth  of  two  inches  or  more  beneath  the  surface. 
This  matter  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  public  in  Bulletin  No. 
10,  in  an  article  by  Dr.  Howard  (p.  25). 

Mr.  W.  K.  Shaw,  acting  upon  our  suggestion,  tried  kerosene 
emulsion  against  larvae  of  Lachnosterna,  presumably  L<ich/msterna 
fusca,  the  common  white  grub  of  Massachusetts,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Boston.  He  was  at  first  of  the  opinion  that  it  killed  the  small  grubs 
but  did  not  affect  the  larger  ones.  Later  he  could  not  see  that  the 
most  careful  use  of  this  emulsion  was  effective  against  these  white 
grubs. 

There  is  no  doubt  about  the  strength  of  the  emulsion,  as  Mr.  Shaw 
is  a  graduate  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  and  direc- 
tions for  the  preparation  and  application  of  this  insecticide  were  fol- 
lowed implicitly,  the  ground  having  been  thoroughly  soaked,  and  in 
each  case  followed  by  an  effective  rain  to  wash  the  kerosene  more 
thoroughly  into  the  ground. 


93 

A    NEW    ENEMY    TO    FIGS    IN    MEXICO. 

Dr.  Edward  Palmer,  when  visiting-  Parras,  in  the  State  of  Coahuila, 
Mexico,  in  the  midsummer  of  1898,  was  .surprised  to  notice  the 
destruction  of  the  fig  crop  by  an  insect  he  had  not  known  before  to 
be  injurious  to  that  fruit.  He  saw  in  the  different  gardens  trees 
loaded  with  figs  in  the  various  stages  of  ripening.  Under  the  trees 
were  many  which  had  fallen,  and  which  were  dry  and  hard.  Little 
plant  bugs  were  noticed  attacking  the  fruit  as  soon  as  it  began  to  be 
soft  and  sweet.  They  inserted  their  beaks  and  sucked  until  all  of  the 
sweet  moisture  was  extracted.  The  trees  were  covered  with  fruit  in 
all  stages  of  destruction,  and  the  dried  fruit  on  the  ground  showed 
the  end  of  the  whole  crop. 

The  fig  was  of  the  blue-black  kind,  a  very  prolific  bearer,  and  quite 
sweet.  There  Mere  no  tigs  in  the  market,  and  the  crop  in  that  vicinity 
was  practically  destroyed. 

Dr.  Palmer  brought  home  specimens  of  the  insect,  but  all  were, 
unfortunately,  immature.  Mr.  O.  Heidemann  examined  them  and 
found  that  they  belonged  to  a  species  of  Pyrrhocorida?.  coming  nearest 
to  Stenomacra  marginetta  H.  S. 

ON    THE    FOOD    HABITS    OF    THE    PAPABOTTE. 

Mr.  G.  H.  Ellwanger.  Rochester.  N.  Y.,  writes  us  under  date  of 
November  2b  concerning  food  habits  of  the  papabotte.  which  is  Creole 
French  for  Bartram's  sandpiper,  a  bird  somewhat  more  commonly 
known  as  the  field,  grass,  or  upland  plover,  which  frequents  our  pas- 
tures and  feeds  on  grasshoppers,  crickets,  and  other  insects.  Accord 
ing  to  our  correspondent,  this  bird  appears  in  Louisiana  and  Texas  in 
large  numbers  about  the  middle  of  July,  remaining  until  the  latter 
part  of  September.  Simultaneously  with  the  advent  of  a  species  of 
••Spanish  fly."  which  also  appears  in  great  numbers,  and  which  eats 
ravenously  of  various  growing  things.  The  papabotte  feeds  upon 
this  insect  and  becomes  very  fat.  acquiring  a  peculiar  and  very  high 
flavor.  But  the  flesh  of  the  bird  as  a  result  of  this  diet  is  said  to  be 
sometimes  poisonous,  and  also  to  be  highly  aphrodisiacal  in  its  effects. 
A  steward  of  one  of  the  New  Orleans  clubs  is  quoted  as  stating  that 
he  found  twenty-six  of  these  Spanish  flies  in  the  stomach  of  a  dozen 
birds  examined. 

As  there  are  upward  of  a  score  of  common  species  of  Meloida?,  or 
Spanish  flies,  better  known  as  blister  beetles  in  portions  of  Texas,  and 
nearly  all  of  these  become  periodically  very  numerous  and  destructive, 
it  is  impossible  to  specify  the  insect  or  insects  preferred  as  a  food  by 
this  bird. 


94 

ON    THE    INSKCTIYokOlS    HABITS    OF    SQUIRRELS. 

In  writing  of  the  natural  enemies  of  Catocala  maestosa,  the  larva1  of 
which  were  observed  to  be  injuring  the  foliage  of  pecan  at  Biloxi, 
Miss.,  Mr.  James  Brodie  makes  statement  under  date  of  June  L9  that 
Squirrels  destroy  these    insects.      June    28,   lie   says    his   attention    was 

called  by  his  little  girl  to  squirrels  eating  these  caterpillars.     At  first 

he  doubted,  but  watched  and  saw  that  it  was  as  the  child  reported. 
One  of  the  squirrels  was  partially  tame  and  took  nuts  from  his  hand. 
A  caterpillar  was  handed  to  this  squirrel  and  it  was  eaten.  In  devour- 
ing a  caterpillar  the  squirrel  would  take  it  in  its  paws,  pull  off  the 
head  and  throw  it  away,  while  the  viscera  were  expelled  or  drawn  out 
and  rejected,  only  the  skin  being  eaten.  Mr.  Brodie  also  stated  that 
the  squirrels  were  fond  of  fungi.  The  squirrels  observed  eating 
insects  were  the  common  gray  squirrel  and  the  flying  squirrel.  One 
was  observed  devouring  a  large  longicorn  beetle,  which  was  placed 
near  it  for  the  purpose. 

INsKCT    INJURY    TO    BINDING    TWINE. 

We  have  received  several  complaints  of  injury  by  crickets  and 
grasshoppers  to  binding  or  binder  twine,  which  we  are  informed  is 
used  for  stacking  small  grain  in  the  field,  a  remedy  or  preventive  being 
desired.  During  May.  1901,  Mr.  I.  D.  Sheaffer,  Russell,  Kan>..  and 
Miss  Annette  Bowman.  Moscow,  Idaho,  wrote  in  regard  to  such 
injury.  These  are  only  two  of  several  complaints.  In  no  cases  have 
we  received  specimens  of  the  insects,  nor  have  we  been  able  to  suggest 
any  substance  that  would  kill  the  insects  or  deter  them  from  attack- 
ing the  twine  that  would  not  at  the  same  time  be  dangerous  to  those 
handling  it.  Poisons,  of  course,  could  not  be  used,  and  sticky  sub- 
stances would  also  be  objectionable,  although,  of  course,  they  would 
prevent  injury  by  the  insects. 

TO    RID    CATS    OF    FLEAS. 

The  following  from  a  New  York  paper  adds  something  new  to  our 
knowledge  of  the  means  of  ridding  domestic  animals  of  fleas.  This 
method  would  probably  be  equally  effective  in  ridding  small  dogs  and 
puppies  of  fleas. 

An  excellent  way  to  get  rid  of  (leas  is  used  by  a  lady  in  Chicago,  \\ rho  owns  sonic  of 
the  best  cats  in  America,  she  has  ready  a  square  of  cotton  batting  and  a  square 
of  cotton  doth,  placing  the  cat  in  the  center  of  the  batting,  which  has  been  laid  over 
the  cloth;  she  rnhs  strong  spirits  of  camphor  quickly  into  the  fur  and  then  gathers 

the  corners  of  the  batting  and  cloth  tight  around  the  neck  of  the  animal.  She  has  a 
tine  comb  ready  and  a  dish  of  hot  water,  for  the  pests,  who  detest  the  camphor,  will 
run  to  the  head  of  the  cat.  and  must  he  combed  out  and  plunged  into  the  scalding 
water.  Hundreds  of  them,  however,  will  jump  from  the  cat  and  Lodge  in  the  cotton 
batting,  where   their  scaly   feet   stick   in  the   cotton   so  that  they   can  not  Lret   away. 


95 

When  the  fleas  cease  to  run  out  onto  the  head  of  the  cat  she  judges  that  they  have 
deserted  the  cat.  The  animal  is  then  let  out  of  the  batting  bag,  and  the  latter  care- 
fully carried  to  the  kitchen  and  deposited  in  the  stove.  The  scent  of  the  camphor 
clings  to  the  cat  for  some  time  and  acts  as  a  preventive.  A  whole  cattery  may  be 
cleaned  out  in  this  way. 

A    NEW    REMEDY    AGAINST    PHYLLOXERA. 

Professor  Vassiliere,  in  the  Gironde,  France,  has  for  several  years 
past  met  with  good  success  in  using  calcium  carbide  against  phylloxera. 

It  is  said  to  be  superior  for  this  purpose  to  bisulphide  of  carbon, 
both  as  to  efficiency  and  absence  of  danger  in  handling.  The  cost  also 
Lb  less  and  it  can  be  used  in  any  season.  It  is  sufficient  to  use  the 
residue  resulting  from  the  manufacture  of  carbide  of  calcium,  which 
is  of  little  value  otherwise  and  which  is  sold  at  about  £2  for  220  pounds. 

For  1  hectare  of  vineyard  land  (1  hectare  equivalent  to  2.471  acres) 
about  1,100  pounds  of  carbide  are  required.  The  carbide  pieces  are 
put  into  holes  in  the  ground,  about  S  inches  deep;  water  is  poured  in 
and  the  hole  tilled  up  again.  The  resulting  vapors  kill  the  phylloxera, 
Avhile  the  ammonia  generated  manures  the  ground.  Carbide  is  at 
present  extensively  used  in  the  vineyards  of  southern  France,  and 
experts  claim  that  it  is  the  best  remedy  against  phylloxera. — Richard 
Guenther.  consul-general.  Frankfort.  Germany.  May  28.  1901. 

A    NOTE    OX    THE    GLASSY-WIXGED    SHARPSHOOTER. 
[Homalodisea  coagulata  Say. 

Mr.  \Y.  D.  Hunter,  special  agent  of  this  Division,  while  at  Victoria, 
Tex.,  during  May.  1901,  wrote  us  on  the  29th  as  follows  concerning 
this  insect,  specimens  of  which  he  sent,  and  which  he  stated  were 
feeding  upon  planted  banana  trees  in  great  numbers: 

These  insects  teed  upon  the  upper  surface  of  the  leaves  and  seem  to  prefer  the  cavity 
of  the  midrib,  or  that  immediate  vicinity,  for  their  operations.  I  notice  what  was 
to  me  an  interesting  habit  of  these  insects.  While  feeding  during  the  portion  of  the 
day  when  the  sun  falls  hottest  upon  the  leaves  of  the  plant,  each  one  is  continually, 
at  intervals  of  only  a  few  seconds,  ejecting  drops  of  liquid  apparently  from  the  anal 
aperture.  These  drops  are  large  enough  to  be  seen  plainly  at  a  distance  of  15  feet 
and  are  forced  out  with  such  vigor  that  they  go  often  as  much  as  12  inches  in  a 
straight  line  before  beginning  to  fall.  Where  there  are  many  of  the  insects  upon  a 
leaf  a  miniature  rainfall  is  produced.  Such  a  forcible  ejection  of  honeydew,  and  in 
the  case  of  insects  outside  of  the  Aphididae  or  Ceropida?,  seems  remarkable  to  me 
and  may  be  of  interest  to  you. 

OX     THE    ALLEGED     IMMUNITY    OF    REDWOOD    TO    ATTACK    BY    TERMITES. 

December  13.  1900,  we  received  a  communication  through  a  firm  of 
lumber  merchants  of  San  Francisco.  Gal.,  which  appears  to  indicate 
that  the  California  redwood  lumber  is  immune  to  the  attack  of  white 
ants,  or  termites.     Through  the  firm  in  question  we  received  a  letter 


96 

from  Mr.  J.  E.  Norton,  dated  December  4,  relating'  to  the  resistance 
of  this  wood  to  the  so-called  Manila  white  ant  or  Annia.  His  letter 
is  in  substance  as  follows: 

In  the  latter  pari  of  L898  I  secured  from  a  transport  a  piece  of  redwood  board 
about  L2  inches  in  Length,  which  was  placed  beneath  a  pile  of  Lumber  in  a  yard  at 
Manila.  The  spot  was  damp,  and  various  pieces  of  timber  all  around  showed 
evidence  of  the  existence  of  the  ant  in  abundance.  This  piece  lay  undisturbed  for  a 
period  <>t'  five  or  six  months,  and  when  examined  was  found  as  sound  as  when  put 
there,  not  having  been  attacked  by  any  insects.  The  Chinaman,  owner  of  the  lum- 
ber yard,  was  still  doubtful,  ami  undertook  to  get  it  eaten  by  putting  it  in  different 
places  under  different  conditions,  such  as  on  top  of  pieces  already  inhabited,  between 
boards,  and  underneath  piles,  and  finally,  after  three  months,  put  the  sample  on 
exhibition  in  his  office  with  the  following  placard:  "  Madera  Colorado  de  California, 
no  se  comen  Annai." 

The  quartermaster's  lumber  yard  had  piled  for  some  four  or  five  months  a  quantity 
of  redwood,  which  upon  my  departure  in  October  was  still  free  from  ants. 

John  MacLeod,  of  Manila,  has  a  room  in  one  of  his  houses  finished  in  redwood, 
constructed  over  fifteen  years  ago,  and  to  this  day  three-fourths  of  the  original 
amount  remains  still  in  good  condition,  one-fourth  having  been  worn  out  and 
replaced  by  other  lumber. 

THE    BRAN-ARSENIC   MASH   AGAINST   GRASSHOPPERS   IN   TEXAS. 

One  of  our  correspondents,  Mr.  S.  D.  Harwell,  Putnam,  Callahan 
County.  Tex.,  writes  as  follows  in  regard  to  the  successful  use  of  bran 
arsenic  mash  as  a  remedy  for  grasshoppers  in  Texas: 

We  are  successfully  using  arsenic  (for  grasshoppers)  at  the  following  rates:  10 
pounds  wheat  bran,  1$  gallons  sorghum  molasses,  1  pound  arsenic.  Make  a  thick 
mash,  sow  broadcast  on  infected  ground,  and  it  will  surely  kill  them.  I  used  40 
pounds  last  year  and  made  49  bales  cotton.  My  neighbors  did  not  do  anything  and 
entirely  lost  their  crop. 

TERMITES   IN   MEXICO. 

We  received  during  August,  1900,  from  Prof.  A.  L.  Herrera,  chief 
of  the  commission  of  parasitology,  Condensa  4^,  Mexico,  D.  F.,  Mex- 
ico, specimens  of  Calotermes  castaneus  Burm.,  a  species  widespread 
and  commonly  known  in  Mexico  as  "Palomilla  de  San  Juan"  (St. 
John's  Dove).  It  is  so  named  from  the  belief  that  it  puts  in  its  first 
appearance  on  St.  John's  day  (June  24).  It  attacks  wood  and  causes 
serious  injury.  Two  hundred  were  collected  in  one  room,  attracted  by 
a  light  placed  in  a  vessel  containing  water.  The  insects  fell  into  the 
latter  and  were  drowned. 

AN   ENTOMOLOGICAL   SERVICE   IN   MEXICO. 

The  Mexican  Government  proposes  to  start  work  in  economic 
entomology  under  official  auspices  at  an  early  date.  Prof.  A.  L. 
Herrera,  at  present  zoologist  in  the  Museo  Nacional,  is  to  be  ujefe 
efectivo,"  and  Mr.  ( ).  W.  Barrett  is  to  he  first  assistant.  The  first 
work  will  ho  an  investigation  of  tin1  distribution  of  the  Mexican 
orange  worm  (Trypeta  hidens)  and  the  best  measures  to  be  used 
against  it. 


97 
NOTES  FROM  CORRESPONDENCE. 

Remedies  against  ants. — Mr.  J.  B.  Blandy,  of  Funchal,  Madeira,  writes  that 
the  following  remedy  ifi  used  in  houses  in  Funchal  against  ants:  Tartar  emetic  10 
grams:  white  sugar,  100  grams;  water,  1.000  grams.  Mix  the  sugar  and  water  well  and 
put  on  the  fire  until  it  boils,  fehen  let  it  cool,  add  the  tartar  emetic  and  dissolve  it 
equally.  Set  about  in  tins  or  other  receptacles  covered  with  wire  netting  for  fear  of 
injuring  cats  or  dogs. 

Mrs.  Oonklin,  Penis,  Gal.,  writes  under  date  of  October  27,  1900,  that  in  her 
experience  an  application  of  corrosive  sublimate  applied  with  a  brush  to  the  edges, 
back.  >ides,  and  crevices  of  shelves  in  what  is  known  as  an  adobe  cool  room,  van- 
ished ants  for  an  entire  season.  Nests  in  gardens  were  destroyed  with  bisulphide  of 
carbon,  as  recommended  by  this  Division  in  Bulletin  Xo.  4.  on  household  insects. 
and  Circular  Xo.  34. 

A  troublesome  ant. — Mr.  John  F.  Wielandy,  a  fruit  grower  of  Santa  Fe.  X'.  Mex., 
and  an  old  correspondent  of  this  Division,  wrote  under  date  of  June  14,  1900.  that  a 
red  ant,  known  as  Pogonornyrmex  barbatus,  specimens  of  which  were  inclosed,  was  a 
most  pugnacious  and  ill-natured  insect;  that  its  bite  was  far  more  painful  to  many 
persons  than  the  sting  of  a  bee  or  hornet.  It  is  locally  known  as  fire  ant,  and  has 
never  been  known  to  foster  aphids,  as  is  the  case  with  so  many  other  species  of  ants. 

Migration  of  the  Western  willow  flea-beetle. — Concerning  the  flea-beetle, 
Disonycha  quinquevittata,  of  which  Mr.  Herbert  Brown,  Yuma,  Ariz.,  wrote  some 
months  ago  (see  Bulletin  Xo.  18,  n.  s.,  p.  100),  our  correspondent  writes  under  date 
of  December  21,  1899,  that  these  beetles  were  again  observed  migrating  in  that  year, 
this  time  coming  down  the  Gila  River  aiid  going  in  the  direction  of  the  Colorado. 
They  moved  November  3  and  4  in  a  belt  apparently  not  more  than  100  yards  wide, 
and  continued  doing  so  during  the  two  days  mentioned.  When  observed  they  were 
usually  flying  about  4  feet  above  the  earth  and  never  more  than  about  20  feet  high. 

The  grapevine  Fidia  in  Illinois. — Writing  May  11,  1900,  Mr.  J.  L.  Lampe,  jr., 
Bloomington,  McLean  County,  111.,  states  that  the  grapevine  Fidia  (Fidia  vitidda 
Walsh.)  in  his  part  of  the  State  had  done  serious  injury  to  vineyards.  Damage  was 
attributed  by  many  growers  to  the  severe  ♦winter  of  1898  to  1899,  which  they  thought 
killed  the  vines,  but  our  correspondent  was  certain  that  this  was  a  mistaken  idea 
and  that  the  vineyards  were  in  reality  ruined  by  this  beetle,  as  he  had  observed  con- 
ditions closely  and  had  been  in  correspondence  with  Mr.  F.  M.  Webster,  of  the  Ohio 
experiment  station.  What  was  left  of  his  once  fine  vineyard  he  stated  he  would 
experiment  on  with  arsenate  of  lead,  other  insecticides  seeming  to  have  no  effect. 

Beetles  occurring  about  smelting  works. — October  18,  1900,  Mr.  Carroll 
Fowler,  of  the  agricultural  experiment  station  at  Berkeley,  Gal.,  sent  specimens  of 
the  Buprestid  beetles,  AfelanophUa  longipes  Say  and  M.  consputa  Lee,  with  the  accom- 
panying information  that  they  were  reported  to  him  to  have  been  collected  at  Cala- 
veras, Cal.,  September  2  of  that  year,  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  smelting 
works.  These  beetles  were  said  to  rest  frequently  on  the  hot  slag  and  appeared  to 
delight  in  the  fumes  of  the  smelting  works. 

A  snout-beetle  injuring  guava  in  Porto  Rico. — Writing  July  30,  1900,  Mr. 
J.  W.  Van  Leenhoff  sent  specimens  of  the  snout  beetle  Diaprepes  abbreviates  with  the 
information  that  they  were  met  with  in  considerable  numbers  attacking  the  young 
plants  of  guava  grown  for  shade,  and  according  to  report  were  attacking  also  young 
coffee  plants.  The  young  plants  of  guava  were  eaten  bare  of  their  leaves.  They 
were  kept  in  subjection  by  hand  picking,  the  beetles  as'  fast  as  caught  being  placed 
in. a  wide-mouthed  bottle  and  afterwards  burned.. 

This  beetle  is  a  rather  striking  species  and  plainly  exotic  from  its  appearance,  not 
being  known  to  occur  in  the  United  States.     It   measures,   with  the  short  snout, 

4670— No  30—01 7 


upward  of  half  an  inch  in  length,  is  black  in  color,  with  pale  yellow  elytra  striped 
w  ith  Mack,  and  a  yellow  Bpol  on  each  side  of  the  thorax. 

Reported  injury  by  the  oil  beetle,  Meloe  impressus  Kirby. — January  12, 
L900,  Miss  Mary  E.  Murtfeldt,  kirk  wood,  Mo.,  sent  a  specimen  of  this  species  with 
the  Statement  that  it  had  been  received  from  a  correspondent  in  Missouri,  with 
report  that  it  was  "eating  wheat  and  rye  t<>  the  ground  in  patches  from  the  size  of  a 
dinner  plate  to  that  of  a  table,  right  through  frost  and  sleet,  as  though  nothing  was 
wrong."  The- determination  of  the  species  is  by  comparison  with  specimens  in  the 
national  collection.  When  this  genus  Meloe  is  given  further  study  it  may  possibly 
prove  to  be  a  distinct  form.     Various  species  of  Meloe  are  known  to  appear  above 

ground  during  mild  days  in  winter  and  early  sprint:,  and  whenever  they  appear  they 

usually  occur  in  numbers. 

Injury  to  apple  leaves  by  the  caterpillar  of  Euclea  paenulata  Clem. — August 
L5  Mr.  II.  (i.  Mitchell  sent  the  beautiful  larva' of  this  limacodid  moth  with  report 
that  they  were  destroying  the  Leaves  of  apple  trees  at  Tuscaloosa,  Ala.  This  insect  is 
a  well-known  enemy  of  willow  and  i»s  occurrence  on  apple  is  noteworthy. 

Injury  by  Lygus  invitus  Say. — June  19,  L901,  we  received  through  Mr.  E.  S. 
Goff  from  Mr.  W.  T.  Innis,  Ripon,  Wis.,  specimen's  of  Lygus  invitmS&y,  a  near  rela- 
tive of  the  tarnished  plant-bug  {I/ygus  pratensis),  with  report  that  this  hug  was 
destructive  t<>  peaches  last  season  in  that  vicinity.  The  hug  evidently  sucked  the 
juices  from  the  young  fruits,  causing  them  to  shrivel  and  perish.  This  is  the  lirst 
instance  of  injury  by  this  species  with  which  we  are  at  present  acquainted. 

The  box-elder  plant-bug  (Leptocoris  trivittatus  Say)  in  Iowa. — April  8, 
1901,  Mr.  J.  II.  Hill,  Elkader,  Iowa,  sent  specimens  of  this  hug,  with  accompanying 
information  that  it  made  its  appearance  in  that  vicinity  ahout  four  years  ago,  and 
although  apparently  harmless  it  had  so  increased  in  numbers  as  to  have  become  an 
intolerable  nuisance  indoors.  During  warm  weather  the  bugs  inhabited  the  trees, 
hut  on  the  approach  of  winter  they  would  creep  into  houses  or  wherever  they  could 
find  shelter.  At  the  time  of  writing,  the  county  court-house  resembled  a  beehive, 
inside  and  out. 

A  European  plant-louse  introduced  in  Massachusetts.— June  22,  1900,  Mr. 
Samuel  R.  Thompson,  Globe  Village,  Worcester  County,  Mass.,  wrote  from  Stur- 
bridge,  of  the  same  State,  transmitting  specimens  of  twigs  of  peach  infested  with 
A j ih is  j»  rsica  Koch. 

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UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 


3  1262  09216  5850 

Dfcpt  Lftv 

J.  State  C 


